Coloquy

“So what, then, is the nature of Invention?”
Intoned, our illustrious Benjamin Franklin.
“Makin’ Money!”
Spouted Thomas,
Edison, that is,
With his ingenuous
Inflection from the mid-west.
“The best schools, political associations,
Making the right connections.”
Uncertain, but demure
Manhattan Project’s Robert Oppenheimer.
“While, to me,
It seemed always just opportunity and necessity.”
Observes Franklin, reflectively.
“We are, I believe,
A predatory species.
Perhaps this point accounts
For our different perceptions.”

“My inventions came from World War
Yours from World Empire,”
Notes Oppenheimer
“Indeed, the greatest extent of the British Empire
Mr. Franklin
Was in your lifetime.”
“Leading to World War against them
Of course.”
“Would you two gennl'emen
Please tell me what this has to do with inventin'?”
Pleads Edison.

“Well, Thomas”
Oppenheimer cajoles
“One could say you were fortunate
In that
The Civil War exhausted
Our nation’s taste for bloodshed.
Inventing rather than violent thieving
Became a passion.”

“I could say,”
States Edison truculently
“That I was just the best damn inventor
There ever was here
And was treated fair and square!”
“You could say that,”
soothes Franklin,
“But you’d be lying.
Eli Whitney was better
But he lived in another era.
He never had your opportunity
To be a pampered celebrity.
When he was a young man
He invented the cotton gin
Revolutionized world industry
Didn’t make him a penny.
You invented the stock-ticker
As a youngster
And became a rich inventor.”

“In your words,”
Oppenheimer observes
“Necessity is the mother of invention
But in ages that seek power, not innovation.
The eighteenth century was a period of expansion
For the British dominions
No need for electrical innovations.
It was only your flair
As a publisher
That enabled you to invent
Your kite and lightning experiment.
Really, more of a political
Than a scientific achievement.”

“And in your era
Mr. Oppenheimer,”
Observes Franklin
“A World Conflagration
The threat of annihilation
Of your entire nation
Was needed as motivation
To release the power of the atom.”

“And you haven’t done much
With it since!”
Edison triumphantly notes.
“Mebbe you’re right
My era favored me
Gave me money
To look into my theories.
Mebbe it’s about time
To realign
Priorities.
There’s no progress
Without guesswork
Give ‘em some money
To have their fun
Ain’t that better than
Bullets and guns?”


© Copyright Jerome Raymond Kraus 2005