In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote a novel entitled Frankenstein—a story about a brilliant scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who created an unnamed humanoid which later became a monstrous killing creature.

When I first read this story, I remember having mixed feelings for the scientist. On the one hand, I was in awe of the ingenuity he had in creating a human-like creature. On the other, I condemned him for how morally hideous the creature had become.

“He should have known better,” I muttered to myself.

Several years later, after seeing all the marvelous technological breakthroughs—as well as the heart-wrenching death toll because of terrorism, racism, climate change, and recently COVID-19—I cannot help but have mixed emotions, again.

I am beyond amazed at what our optimized potential can do and create for bettering the conditions of humanity, yet also profoundly dismayed about the insidious moral and ecological decay accompanying the improvements we have had.

“We should have known better,” I found myself muttering again.

Thus, I created the poem below. It is my attempt to ease and release the ambivalent feelings I have about humanity and what the best of us have created over the years.

And thinking it’s apt, this poem is titled, “Frankenstein”: 

How did we come to this?
We’ve evolved to make convenience our source of bliss
Created an environment to foster connectivity
Yet never have we been more divided than today

How did we come to this?
We’ve gone a long way trying to improve ourselves
Focused all our efforts, servicing our humanly wants and needs
Only to destroy the world we live in and leave it to bleed

How did we come to this?
We’ve proven ourselves to be truth and knowledge seekers
Filled our mental spaces about what to know, believe, fight for, or go against
Still many are blind to the basic tenets of human diplomacy, decency, and kindness

How did we come to this?
Are we all Frankenstein in the making?
Our birth and genius that once signaled a sign of hope
Now seemed an imminent omen for destruction we may never cope

I’ve also created a spoken version for this. See below:

We can do better. I truly believe in that.

We just need to stop playing God and be more humane in all our dealings.

It’s not yet too late. It’s never too late.