Young Poets Magazine –

"Veins" by Regina Chae

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Cover photo shows a quill in an ink pot with two vintage books and a fresh green apple.

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January 15th, 2026

Veins

by Regina Chae

since the Assyrian dynasty bounded by sands (we can only imagine)
to contemporary times we scarcely can escape
not one person dictates the blood of society's pressure
yet the fading sunset or the clear blue sky doesn't increase my dopamine 
the rush of adrenaline over climbing branches or big boulders doesn't seem to apply
there aren't blankets of serotonin when lying on germinated seeds
because our veins are now networks and water just steams our artificial intelligence
 
elders tell us to relax our eyes for the venomous scape
bathe in the moonshine and the cancerous rays 
the harsh grip just so we can have experience
I stand and stand while the rot seeps out of sewers
stand and stand above the crawling itch and stick
shuffle for the gamble in a flower planted for lives unseen
 
adore it we can't – not in the minds of thousands
it's been a half-century since kids danced with the sun or slid through the green
sometime between 5,100 years and
7.8 million years from now humanity will cease
maybe in another century kids won't know what they don't know 
of the animal kingdom as all they will know is LED lights and
cooling fluids and tin boxes that talk
 
I know I probably won't be alive to see the world change 
but I can still fire the neurons in my brain and think
think! will the changes be black and white?
or will it be subtle? a soft blinking diode
bit by bit until in a blink the world is plasma metal screams


About the Poet
Regina Chae resides in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Read the poet's biography and Young Poets World publications on Regina Chae's Artist Page.

Young Poets Collection
This poem is also featured in Young Poets Collection #1, published in the Young Poets World Library.

Keywords: nature, technology, future, evolution, AI

Previously published in Young Poets Magazine:
Me the Monster, the Victim, Me?
by Shaheer Daniyal

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