WOODPECKER SIMPLE

The foxes have holes
And the birds of the air
Have nests
But the Son of Man
Has nowhere to lay His head.
St. Matthew, 8:20

Woodpeckers work
On the excavation of wood.
Their bills are their tools.
Unlike modern humans
They are autonomous.

Property Relations among
Woodpeckers are impossible.
They have everything they need.
Most of us are subject to
Those few who control our means.

This othering of the many
For the benefit of the few is
Further compounded by the
Energy inputs demanded
In the production of those means.

The consumption of this
Energy is beyond
The control of the many
But it is they who suffer the
Consequences of its deployment.

In Times past
Human Life was simpler
Not Woodpecker simple
But the farmer and the artisan
Both owned and worked their tools

Before steam subverted
That relationship
And efficiency demanded
A scale of production no longer
Commensurate with the individual.

Andreas Malm, Fossil Capital -
The Rise of Steam Power
and the Roots of Global Warming