The Cost of Progress

Through ages past, we forged ahead, With gleaming tools where dreams were led. Soft metal pipes, they carried flow, Yet silent poison crept below. A glowing spark, in dials bright, Lit up the dark, but stole the light. Brushes kissed lips, an artist's pride, Yet bones grew frail as youth subsides. Fibers woven, fire's foe, In walls and mines, their curse would grow. Lungs turned stone, and whispers fade, A heavy price their lives have paid. Secrets stirred in shadowed halls, Where science's call brought down great walls. Beasts reshaped, but lost their core, What soul survives such cruel rapport? Beauty painted to beguile, Yet venom lurked in every vial. Tremors came, minds slipped away, For fleeting grace, the toll we pay. Now batteries hum, and engines thrive, Yet flames may leap where sparks survive. The earth protests, its veins run dry, What cost we bear, we must decry. Each step we take, each bright new flame, Holds truths we fear to give a name. But heed the past, its lessons learn, Lest futures bright to ashes turn.