was

       there
were
 
 
unmistakable signs of
putrification
we have a corpse now
a burial is the next
step
ping pong spade work
down
into the hole
 
all the earth
shovelled back on top
with a pat, pat
 
“ Right folks
move on-
-away
there’s nothing
more to see here,
not another word
left to say”
 
testing to see if in
fact
the system was down
or indeed had crashed
 
was a state of
putrification
reached?
 
an injection of
fluorescein
just beneath the skin
into the wires still
regular and thin
 
bright green eyes
beautiful yellow skin
“Alive within!” I cried
halt,
do not bury
 
            virus
 
the virus was no match
for this machine
 
so live again,
let the gardens grow,
the programmes
 
begin to serve the
sophisticated systems
 
to function,
creating life
in artificial universes
 
           earth-like
            festivals
               
for....
 
...dancing skeletons
...clutching hearts
...crying into
hand-kerchiefs
...fashioned from
placental membrane