when lightning learns to hate us
tesla
spoke to electricity
and it answered
in a language
no one else survived long enough
to learn.
he believed light
was innocent.
that it only needed
a generous hand.
he never stayed
to watch
what men do
once the switch
is theirs.

wells
watched men.
and decided
the future would be cruel
because the present already was.
he didn't write hope.
he wrote autopsies
of tomorrows
that hadn't learned
how to die yet.
tesla tried
to give the world fire
without asking
why we enjoy the burn.
wells tried
to warn the world
and discovered
we prefer prophecies
as entertainment.
they passed each other
like ghosts
in nightmares.

one built machines
that could wake the sky.
the other built futures
that could not be stopped.

both misunderstood
the same thing:
humans don't destroy the future
by accident.
we do it
because power feels better
than restraint
because speed feels better
than wisdom
because warning signs
are easy to step over
when they aren't electrified.

tesla died
still believing
the light would forgive us.
wells died
knowing
it wouldn't.