Meddlers
A Poem Inspired by Orson Scott Card's
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Written by Koraden
Meddlers
Altering the story of time
With neon ink
Until the once-firm past
Is lost beneath the markings
Forever
Each change
Splinters a thousand souls
Shards so small
They never existed
Every life
Never created
Every babe
Never born
Every soul
Never saved
Meddlers
In the face of doom and desperation
Scampering back to history
The cowards
To prevent the reaping of what they sowed
Avoiding their mistakes
Their fate
Perhaps death
Was their only destiny
And deserting
Will just kill them again
Turning from
A darkened future
Turning to
A darkened past
Turning with
A darkened mission
Meddlers
A plague they bring
Who is to say if it is better
Than nature?
Does its creation at human hands
Perhaps make it worse?
Less die
But it is their fault
Watching from afar
Wishing to ease
Others' pain
At any cost
Watching children
Die as slaves
Watching women
Die abused
Watching people
Die and die
Meddlers
Yet it was not their pains
The pains of lives past
That sent them
It was not the injustices
Of history
But their own selfish greed
When all seemed lost
Back they scampered
Back
Where they never belonged
Who's to say
If it is better
When an entire history
Is lost?