The Time Capsule

Hello Aliens, welcome toEarth.

Hello Aliens, welcome to Earth,
the abandoned planet you found
amongst the debris of satellites
that in the macrocosm abound.

You came upon a scorched land,
the remains of climatic disasters
that happened despite warnings
from scientists and forecasters.

In the wall of a charred building
a time capsule was immured
which contains the salient records
of what man had once endured.

Inside we put the story of Pinocchio,
a name you won’t have heard before.
It’s the tale of a mendacious puppet
and intended to be a metaphor.

As the lies he told increased tenfold
the length of his nose would grow
so that every time he uttered a fib
the entire universe did know.

We had politicians who also lied
and managed to avoid any blame;
even if the whopper was a big one
their nose’s size stayed the same.

I hope that container will help you
when you finally are able to suss
how to clear our mess and I wish
that you do a better job than us.

© Luigi Pagano 2019