“virtual reality”, substring(8);
Redmond, WA
2021, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Launch simulation
Generate world from map
Location: Washington State.
Split screen across the Cascades.
In the west,
the download bar lay sideways
progress is the ocean
rising.
In the east,
Make a pivot table comparing
California and Eastern Washington.
Apply conditional formatting
with the deuteranopia filter.
Drag the format painter from the overcast
across the global savior—trees.
Watch as the deep green #046307
turn into the washed-out gray #808080.
“Please enter your 4-digit pin”
2-0-5-0
Time portal activated.
The downloading reached 120%,
see the uninvited guests of hurricanes running towards us.
The deuteranopia filter is still there,
hear the mocking laughter of something we cherished.
The overheating intensifies,
feel the all-natural sauna as the greenhouse door is locked.
The resolution lowers to 360p,
smell the sickly-sweet essence of smog all around.
No more
Alt-F4 and Ctrl-Z
our chest turns tight as the walls close in.
or Alt-Tab and Windows-M
staring straight at the truth.
The
“virtual reality,” substring(8);
glares intensely at us.
Reflection
Reflection
Due to the pandemic, the use of technology has significantly increased over the past year. I wanted to deliver a message that resonates with the technology users of today and spread the message to my generation and future generations. The title is a Java (coding language) method call that returns “Reality” as the output. I wanted to demonstrate that through the computer simulation, we see the effects of global warming as a reflection of what will happen in the real world by the year 2050. Living in Washington State, I am proud of the beautiful nature of the place I call home. Washington is famous for its rainfall and waterfront, so I wanted to learn more about how global warming will affect the water locally. Through research, I found that Eastern and Western Washington will be impacted very differently by global warming. In Western Washington, the main concern will be sea levels rising, which may lead to floods and disturbance of ecosystems. In Eastern Washington, the main concern is drought, similar to what Southern California has faced in recent years. Now that I know this information, I want to spread it to my community through this poem. Many people cannot imagine the effects of climate change in Washington State because of our proximity to nature. I want to teach people about the consequences if they do not care about our planet.