The Time Machine

 Do you ever just sit and wonder when or where you could wander?

To a place near or far,

Further then you could ever go in a car.

Back in time to visit great kings or even just to look at the little things.

To see what life was like way back when, 

Time had hardly just began.

To understand why things are as the way they are today,

You have to go back and see what the past has to say.

Choosing a Destination 

The things you’ll learn if you could go back in time are endless,

 You could answer almost every question. 

The only hard thing is deciding what place to visit. 

You could go to Ancient Greece or Rome, t

The people you previously could only read about at home. 

You could go back to when the light bulb or electricity was invented,

 And the day the idea was first tested.

You go back and watch a Shakespeare play, to see how they compare to our productions today. 

You could see how languages evolved over time,

And how they compare to yours and mine.

 Instead of just going to the Renaissance Fair, 

You could actually go there. 

To see how the greatest artists and architects came to be, and how they found their legacy. 

The hard part for me is finding which one I will first see.

First Stop: Ancient Greece…

The start of a civilization about 4,000 years ago.

In an environment, so far from mellow.

Upon the highest peak of the mountain,

Was the home of the Olympians.

The honored deities, which made the people’s world go round,

While being oh so far beyond those on the ground.

From these figures sprung an epic, the journey of Odysseus, 

A hero and king full of courage and the will to take on hardships,

In a way far from those we witness.

Temples of stone and the Olympic games arised,

These games, a dangerous test of athletic ability,

All for those figures in the skies. 

The creation of mathematics, science, astronomy and more,

Leading to dawning ideas to be explored.

The first computer, that predicted each eclipse,

Both lost and found in the wreckage of a ship.

The earliest alarm clock that involved pebbles tumbling down onto a gong,

Whereas, now our phones just play us a simple song.

There was a lever made to lift things a man could not lift alone,

Leaving the people’s mind completely blown.

The fall of Ancient Greece is far from a mystery,

Once you’ve learned its history.

The city-states were always at war,

Which is one of the reasons they were left torn.

They were unable to unite against their common enemy, Rome,

So the Romans swooped in and took their home. 

As we say goodbye to a civilization of both wonderful and terrible things,

We know we can always travel back to see,

Those lessons that cling, the songs they sing,

And the wonder that the Greeks will always bring.

Journey into Ancient Rome…

It all started with Romulus and Remus,

The myth of the civilization’s founding.

A great empire first laid on the banks of the Tiber River,

That enabled the merchants’ goods to be sent and delivered. 

Each building block stacked one by one through trade,

Creating a huge empire, completely handmade.

A region full of artists and architects,

The creators of concrete to which they are adept. 

As the aqueducts stretch across the land, 

They encouraged Ancient Rome to expand. 

After taking down their foe, the Greeks. 

It’s their philosophy and science they take for their own and critique.

The deities of Greece taken and fused with their own, 

Represented through sculptures of stone.

Temples and offerings for those gods in the sky,

In order to keep the flow of their daily lives. 

The Colosseum, a demonstration of their architectural genius,

Hosting games reflecting the peoples’ keenness.

Gladiators fought bloody battles,

Animals hunted, and horses raced with people upon their saddles. 

All for the entertainment of the people. 

Now it’s time meet Julius Caesar,

A general and someone we would consider a political leader.

Nearly invincible on the battlefield,

But not because of the weapon he would wield. 

His leadership skills, his daring strategies, and his speed.

Are part of the reasons why the Roman Empire was going to succeed. 

Victor in the Roman Civil War, 

With techniques never seen before. 

When he became a leader, the Ides of March took him down, 

It was in the fear and rage of others that he drowned.

Little did his pursuers know when their blades were drawn,

That in the eyes of the people Caesar would never be gone.

On what seemed to be a normal day,

Actually was going to be the destruction of Pompeii.

Mount Vesuvius, ready to blow.

In volcanic ash the city was buried down low.

People preserved in their final stance,

Not escaping when they had the chance. 

Visiting this place makes you want to know,

What possibly could have caused the downfall of Western Rome.

The corruption of their government, the fall of the economy 

And loss of tradition weakened Rome,

Allowing each aspect to crumble inside their home.

Invasions and losses endured by the military,

Left the West to wallow in their disparity.

Then, they tumbled down into collapse of the Empire,

 While the East was still thriving and moved up higher.

The Byzantine Empire is what they became, 

Over the years the name continued to be changed.

All of these civilizations rising and falling, 

As well as constantly changing and evolving.

To events that led up to us living this way

And what shaped the land we walk upon today.

Venturing into the Age of the Viking… 

The people departing from civilization, 

For many reasons, one being overpopulation.

The Scandinavians left for a new start,

But it’s what they did that set them apart.

Viewed as uncivilized and ruthless beings,

Known by many names, all with similar meanings.

Vikings as we know them today,

But Norsemen back then they used to say.

They were craftsmen, navigators, and sailors,

Which made them quite skilled at being invaders.

Many came from Denmark, Norway or Sweden,

But once they left they had conflicts with the Europeans.

Not belonging to the Christain faith, 

Made it easier for them to follow through with their raids.

They would raid monasteries because of the loot inside,

Each one taken and burned causing many to die.

Some enslaved and brought along, 

While the Vikings took the British Isles in no time at all.

As the poured into Ireland and Scotland,

You would think that there would be someone to stop them.

They invaded place after place,

 Leaving settlements behind for the journey’s end that awaits.

Eventually things started to tone down,

When Christainity was what most of the Scandniavians found.

When the raiding was done, back to the settlements they went,

This marked the end of an age that left quite a dent.

The language spoken by them gave us words we use in English today,

As their culture was absorbed into the European ways,

Bringing the first parliamentary government and new routes for trade.

Looking back you can see that the Vikings were never actually gone,

The people as a whole had just evolved and moved on.

Meeting the Mayans…

When the Formative period came along,

It was where the start of the Mayans would belong.

Located in Central America and Mexico,

Where the civilization would begin to grow.

All beginning with agriculture and farming,

Not knowing the effect they would be imparting.

In their hay day they had forty cities of stone,

As well as sculptures that left their artistry shown.

These temples mostly built as pyramids in shape,

Enabling you to stand on the top and gaze upon the landscape.

Creations and ideas pouring in,

Allowing us to see how these would begin.

The complex calendar close to what we use today,

Still consisting of 365 days.

Using the cycles of the objects in the sky,

In order to decide when it was harvesting time.

Being the first place to ever use rubber,

While also having their own system of numbers.

They wrote books using paper made from tree bark,

Just one of the many ways they left their mark.

Rainforest life is what they thrived in, 

Using all the natural resources that the forests could provide them.

Limestone, obsidian, and salt,

Allowed the Mayan civilization to exalt.

As time went on they grew and grew,

Until they mysteriously fell through.

One by one the cities were abandoned,

Leaving historians baffled on what had happened.

Some say the environment couldn’t support the people any longer,

Others say it was the constant warfare,

Or a drought that would leave the civilization conquered.

Even after traveling back it still isn’t clear,

Who knows if the answer will ever appear.

It was fun going and learning,

About who they were and discerning.

Everything they left behind,

While still living in this world of mine.

Reaching Into the Renaissance…

Coming out of a time with war, famine, and plagues.

Humanism arose into the world,

Forming the period we call the Renaissance.

While embracing humanity’s achievements in science and the arts,

It gave the period a great running start. 

Communications where at an all time high,

And the Gutenburg printing press was the reason why.

People now were promoting traditional Greek and Roman beliefs,

In the mass amount of texts being released.

Also known as the Age of Discovery,

But its story is a complex journey.

The first violin and ballet was invented,

Still being used today long after the idea was presented.

The genius mind of Galileo,

Eager to learn and test theories,

Even challenging those of Aristotle.

Proving ideas that were long set in to be wrong,

For that very reason he and some others could not get along. 

Practically the creator of the scientific method,

That allowed theories not just to be believed but also tested.

Making the idea of the pendulum,

That swings back and forth consistently, 

To going against the idea of a Ptolemaic system when others thought differently.

To challenging theories of Copernicus and the very idea of their society,

Was what left the Roman Catholic church angry undeniably,

His ideas seen as heresy,

Leading him to be put under house arrest permanently.

Another huge influence was art,

A driving force for the time from the start.

Many works focusing on realism and capturing things in their natural state,

Which left artists with beautiful works to create.

Brunelleschi was an architect and engineer,

Making him one of the early Renaissance architectural pioneers.

His most major work being the Cathedral of Santa Maria,

The tools he created, a demonstration of his genius ideas.

Now we see Shakespeare,

An actor, poet, and playwright,

The few things known about him are those works he would write.

Still being performed and read today,

The wondrous stories were written to stay.

The falling out of this period was a devastating thing,

War, invaders, and the disruption of momentum to which this would bring.

The choking of the trade routes led to economic decline,

The previous thinkers now living with stifled creativity in their minds.

Due to the Catholic church censoring creators in the Reformation,

Allowed for the sinking of this curious generation.

The church now fighting the ideas that started off this age,

Humanism or any challenge of old beliefs,

Would result in a death penalty being arranged.

Although, It is sad to say,

This glorious period would begin to fade away.

Hopefully, to be reborn soon one day. 

Entering the Enlightenment…

Just as the Renaissance, this age of new began to flourish,

Once they arose from a time left malnourished.

Moving out of the Thirty Years War into the light,

Smothering those old ideas created in the night.

Also known as the Age of Discovery,

Trying to climb oh so high in such a hurry.

Putting such an emphasis on science and reason,

Which was once almost seen as treason.

Galileo now shining through as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke,

Both their old and new theories coming together to interlock. 

John’s message now living inside the people hearts,

A new Bill of Rights sprung from what his words would impart.

Both American and French Revolutions inspired by these beliefs,

Sparking the fire that would burn up their griefs. 

Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense,

Allowing these new ideas to be packaged and sent.

Individual liberties and freedom now promoted highly,

Making the philosophies enter the world far from lightly.

The revising of the scientific method led to Newton's discoveries in physics,

Removing all previous unrealistic limits.

Encyclopedias made to spread new information around,

In these words of genius’ the era was wound. 

Christianity now flipping the opposite way,

A reposition of faith was now underway.

Deists and materialists now thought the universe made its own decisions,

Running its course without God’s provisions.

The faith molding around the ideas of this age,

Some of these parts remaining the same, only laid out and to be rearranged. 

Then Skepticism started running wild,

Causing the Enlightenment thinkers to be riled. 

Skeptics questioned the ability of society to be saved through reason,

Starting to make the beliefs of the era uneven.

Now falling into contradicting ideas from multiple sources,

Causing the entire time to change courses.

The shifting into Romanticism is what will see,

Displaying theories much different from what they used to be.

The French Revolution, inspired by the Enlightenment, ultimately took it down,

Destroying that last bit of ideas to which the era was bound. 

Remembering the Age of Revolution ... 

In this time the people pushed back against,

Political, social, and economic matters that left people suppressed.

Rebellions and wars with people fighting for what they believed was right,

In all these different places a similar spark would ignite.

A fire that would tear across their land,

Needing the strength of each and every single man. 

First the American Revolution will step into the spotlight,

Fighting for the freedom of the colonists' rights. 

Those 13 colonies declaring Independence from Britain,

In a document, by Jefferson and more it was written.

War broke out for the next seven years,

In which the Americans would persevere.

With help from France the war was a success,

Making the first step into a world of progress.

Many years later the Civil War would arise,

Almost acting as a bloody reprise.

A second revolution was underway,

Creating many changes that feed into the times of today.

Slaves now free and the U.S. back together again,

The country advanced from its old ways from way back then.

Time it would take for the country to stay free,

Until it would finally exist as it was promised to be.

The French Revolution is where we’ll go next,

Which in a certain aspect is complex.

The people doing away with the old political beliefs,

Absolute monarchy and the feudal system now begin to cease.

While uprooting the traditional political ways,

They failed to reach their goals so the country went ablaze.

Caused by them being on the brink of bankruptcy,

While having low harvest, unreasonable prices, and cattle disease.

Riots, strikes, and stealing spread across the country,

Starting war and violence abruptly. 

At the end of this brought a Declaration,

Something they’ve been thinking about in preparation.

Now giving the people rights they’ve never had before.

Inspired by the Enlightenment ideas,

Knowing that they could be restored.

They gave the people freedom of speech and equal opportunity,

France was now appraising the idea of unity.

Haiti's Revolution is next in line,

Inspired by the French Revolution around the same time.

Freed slaves had hopes of things to be achieved,

And the brutality of the slave onwers is what they wanted to leave.

Conflicts to remove French control broke out,

Engaged by the former enslaved without a doubt. 

When things began to die down the country was independent,

All thanks to the willpower of its descendants.

This pushed the French to sell the land of the Louisiana Purchase,

Ending the transatlantic slave trade, but keeping servitude in occurence. 

Now Latin America’s revolt takes place,

All of the previous revolutions inspired the events that await.

New bureaucratic reforms made some of the colonies queasy,

Making things start to run a little uneasy.

The problems this switch caused were enlarged by French invaders,

Which began to change the minds of its creators.

Some colonies had there own government now,

The maintaining of independence is what slavery would allow.

Political and social means shifted toward independence and freedom,

Now hoping this time they will be able to keep them.

The enslaved people were motivated to work for their own,

In revolutionary armies this was shown.

After this fight, an end to the slave trade was in place,

But many more years of pushing was needed social freedom in this case.

This period had the driving force of industrialization,

As it ran through manys places and civilizations.

Changing all of the different ways of life,

Sometimes only changing after people had fallen on the blade of a knife.

The world then grew and grew, although nobody actually knew,

What exactly it would become at the end of the day,

Or who or what would cause it to fade away. 

Foreseeing the Future…

Now that we’ve finished our journey through time,

Let’s open the door to the future and see what’s inside.

In order know where you're going you have to know where you’ve been,

From this idea is where these theories will come in,

While Industrialization kicked off something that will continue to the end.

With new and improved technology the world will expand,

Ways to make people live longer that we will one day understand.

From discovering that cells exist,

 To creating brand new ones from a petri dish.

People like Marie Curry from the past,

 Will help us understand things in order last.

One day having A.I. in each and every home,

In these new ideas our world will begin to roam.

Cars being able to drive themselves,

And new inventions will constantly be stocking the shelves.

But just as things have gone down in past,

Many of the things we make may not last.

Viruses as we’ve seen,

Will take out some people just like you and me.

Peace could not possible last forever,

To prevent this violence we must be clever.

People will always put up a fight for justice,

Which really emphasizes how important trust is.

Moving along a timeline full of ups and downs,

While different elements work together to make the world go round.

Not everywhere on the earth will be the same,

Just as it's always been since our ancestors came. 

But there in one more thing that I would like say,

It was an enlightening experience going back in the day,

When things weren’t quite the same way,

And for this very reason we may,

FInally get to say…

That we made it one day.