If you wrap copper wire
around an iron stick
and fix it to a wheel
and then you spin that wheel near a magnet,
you can conjure electricity.
There are many great wonders
that can set that wheel to turning:
water, wind, the burning bronze star in our sky,
even our own backs and bones can peddle heat.
These are clean and renewable conduits,
but as yet,
they are not as cheap
as digging deep into the earth
and pulling up ancient decay
and setting it aflame
and blackening the skies with smoke
and flooding our oceans with slick and oil.
We will barter it all —
the waters, the air we breathe into ourselves,
the trees and the creatures who live in the trees,
yes, even our own bloodstreams
and the cells of our children —
to keep the wheel spinning
to grasp at power
—
Shannon Corbeil is a screenwriter, actor, and Air Force veteran. She served as an Intelligence Officer after 9/11, providing support to A-10 pilots in South Korea and analyzing cyber threats at the National Security Agency. Serving in the shadow of war contributed to her fascination with the values and temperaments we uphold in our society. She lives in Los Angeles, CA, where she kisses her sweet dog on the face every single day.
