The song of a sloth-student |
??? B.C. – 2011 Ah, the bewildering spark of grand modernization Initiated by a crucial rift called Industrialization That event which brought technological revolution Which turned Europe an even remarkable nation. We are on the Age of Modernization, we proudly say We have grown, changed and developed on our way But are we really any greater than people of yesterday? If what we only knew is to refine what they made. These vibrant youths no longer appreciate history Not even spend some time in the library Blind for those events their ages carry That if not for them, we have no fire, much less technology. We presume we are even greater by tomorrow As we learn the drafted curriculum in a row But how do the ancient Egyptians build such a Pyramid Without architecture from a famed university? How do the ancient Greeks conjured up the Parthenon A Temple for Athena they adorn With such intricacies and charmed abilities If science rejects magic from myths? How do the people of Nan Madol, Micronesia Struck a floating paradise in the middle of Oceania If miles away are the basalt rocks where it stood Without even a forklift but haul as they could? How do the mighty Incas of Peru Without Oxford, summoned up Machu Picchu? Or the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia Called up the Hanging Gardens of Babylonia? How do the great conqueror Alexander Expanded a vast empire to the far east Without even a doctorate in law or politics But only the curious Aristotle and his wits? How do the old and wise Phoenicians Merchants who denominated the trade of Asians Without a little of your debits and credits Not even a ‘how-to’ of your financial merits. How do the European sailors of the past Treaded the oceans, treacherous and vast Circumnavigating the earth to its polar rings While not even a graduate of marine engineering? Who said that brilliance came from schools? Or wisdom written in books? They are nothing but vital stimulators Rousing curiosity and imagination. Modernization can never contend For the wisdom antiquity could lend Everything in heaven and earth we think of discovering first While in reality, it is never our search. And so the past must never be forgotten To nurture the future we only inherited We keep our head high because of technology But have we already written our own history? We presume that we are greater today But are we really any greater than yesterday? |