"Old and Outdated" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Out with the Old, In with the New
The clockwork turns, a measured, grinding sound,
On gears of rust where silent dust is found.
A system built on faith and stubborn will,
Now stands a relic, strangely, deeply still.
The circuit board, a maze of tarnished gold,
A story whispered, tired and growing old.
Its logic frail, its memory a blur,
A faithful servant, but a sepulcher.
The worn-out shoes, with soles worn paper-thin,
That bore the weight of journeys from within.
The threadbare coat, a shield against the frost,
Now hangs a phantom of a season lost.
The faded photographs, a yellowed smile,
Stuck in a moment for a dusty while.
Each object holds a truth, a past, a grace,
But time insists it must be swept from place.
And so we choose, with hesitant, slow hands,
To tear down towers on forgotten sands.
To pull the plug, to sever every wire,
And let the old flames finally retire.
To box the memories, to seal the past,
A tender ritual, meant to go and last
Only as long as we can stand and see
The ghost of what we used to truly be.
The new begins, a different, vibrant hum,
A pulse of life, a future to become.
A shining server, sleek and clean and fast,
A network built to endlessly outlast
The stuttering and fumbling of the past.
A brand-new jacket, tailored, crisp, and bright,
Reflecting back the promise of the light.
New shoes that grip the ground with purpose clear,
An anthem to the path that's waiting here.
The final shift, the hardest one to face,
Is when a person leaves their rightful place.
A leader falters, and their voice grows faint,
A trusted friend, a fragile, fading saint.
We see the signs, we feel the subtle pull,
The changing tide that makes the circle full.
We say goodbye, a quiet, bitter ache,
For all the promises we couldn’t make.
But in the wake of silence, a new sound,
A different cadence on this hallowed ground.
A youthful voice, with eyes of hopeful flame,
Now learns the rules and plays a different game.
A fresh perspective, unafraid to start,
To mend the systems, and to heal the heart.
For as we live, and as the seasons turn,
A single, vital lesson we must learn:
The old must fall, so new can rise and be
A brighter version of what used to be.
©A. Derek Catalano/Gemini
Related poem: Make Way for the Youth
