What Could Possibly Go Wrong

What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Sandra Long

The stroller books its own commute

The crib runs sleep analytics too

The baby monitor files reports

On nighttime cries and bowel support

 

The fridge invests in avocado futures

The sink detects emotional bloopers

The diaper drone arrives by noon

Unless there’s surge pricing on the route

All systems green

All metrics strong

The graphs have never looked this long

User delight at ninety-nine

The future’s polished, sleek, divine

What could possibly go wrong?

The dashboard says we’re crushing strong

Every arrow points to up

We drink success from paper cups

What could possibly go wrong?

We optimized it all day long

Nothing fragile here to see

Just scan the code for certainty

Then one small pop, one quiet spark

And suddenly the city’s dark

The smart lock needs authentication

Please retry your evacuation

 

The penthouse chef can’t boil rice

The app says candles cost triple price

Alexa, where’s the breaker box?

“I’m sorry, that request has stopped.”

No bars, no cloud

No helpful tone

A thousand people home alone

Premium members wait in line

For human help from nine to nine

 

 

What could possibly go wrong?

The battery lasted not that long

Every tower made of glass

Needs somebody who knows gas

What could possibly go wrong?

We outsourced every ancient song

Now nobody can patch a leak

But six devices track your sleep

 

 

Ten miles out where signal fades

They’ve got jars, potatoes, tools, and trades

Someone starts the backup heat

Someone brings an extra seat

 

The auntie changes three more kids

No biometric diaper lids

The welder fixes half the street

The baker says, “There’s soup to eat.”

 

No one asks your title there

Or how many followers you wear

No platinum tier, no VIP

Just “Grab a shovel. You’re with me.”

 

 

Turns out likes don’t make a fire

And stock options don’t change a tire

Titles don’t create fresh bread

And Wi-Fi can’t tuck kids in bed

 

Efficiency removed the slack

Reality came asking back

The future had a gorgeous face

But forgot to keep a spare shoelace

 

 

What could possibly go wrong?

We learned what kept us moving on

Not every upgrade makes us wise

Not every bright thing qualifies

 

What could possibly go wrong?

Community was there all along

When all the screens forgot to glow

The old skills said, “We told you so.”

 

 

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