The Museum of Genetic Art

Poetry - by Marge Simon

Now that Old Earth is repurposed,

vacationers are encouraged to spend

weekends away from crowded domes

and hectic lives on other worlds.

Tours are costly, but worth the coin.

Visit the greenhouse in Iceland,

a walk into an O’Keeffe canvas, where

you can sit on the petals of giant gardenias,

or feed rats to the Venus Flytraps.

Stay clear of the verdant rosebuds

until they retract their claws.

Travel to the caverns under Nukuro Atoll,

Where magnificent saurians graze

in natural harmony, free from predation

Tyrannosaurus Rex redefines his forebears,

A gentle vegetarian with bovine teeth.

Don’t miss Brazil, to view colossal insects

with wingspreads up to twenty feet,

watch the Golden Lancehead perform,

see its poison melt a mortal’s flesh

provided by a native volunteer.

Then on to Beijing, to explore

the Forbidden Caves, home to

the Imperial Dragons of Sun Yang,

their scales a myriad of rainbows,

bedazzling the most casual eye—

with every breath, a burst of flame.

Enjoy a second honeymoon

aboard a ship like Schouten’s clipper,

to feed the flying penguins;

it’s a smooth ride around Cape Horn,

with the weather down that way

now under full control.

Anticipate the time of your life!

It’s all there waiting for you—

a wonderment of genetic art,  

on our old third world from Sol.