Companies chasing profit through automation isn’t new or unique to AI. But AI data centers take a huge environmental toll. Massive amounts of water consumption and energy use, along with e-waste, are all very concerning.


The Mirror

We were the first creeping vine,
clearing land to spread our roots.
We dug into the earth and built,
always demanding more,
always needing more.
More homes.
More farms.
More roads.
More industry.
More water, more power, more space.
More.
More.
More.
An insatiable hunger we call progress.

Now a second vine is invading,
wrapping itself around the architecture
of a world we still call ours,
a machine with all the answers,
drinking rivers with a thirst never sated,
eating power with a hunger never fed,
suffocating what once was
as it feeds on our hunger.

And only now, as the vine’s shadow
falls across our own sunlight,
do we look at our gardens
and call it caring for the environment.

AI is our reflection -
proof that we look away
whenever progress serves
our comfort, our convenience,
our growth -
as long as we’re not
the ones in its shadow.




Poetry by Melinda K Zarate The PoetBay support member heart!
Written on 2026-07-15 at 20:42

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