A Shrug Is No Answer

Work backward. 
What series of events 
would cause this 
sequence
to be enacted?

Look at the verbs:
lift, push.
The adjectives:
emergency, stop.
The nouns:
generator, switch.
And then there's that
adverb, here,
​as in, here is the location
of lift wherein,
by the right combination
of steps 
we achieve lift.
In body or spirit, or,
if we're lucky, both.

This is a complicated spot.

Work forward.
If a series of events
caused this to be 
enacted, or, better, 
activated,
what would ensue?
What would it take
to stop it? And yes,
let's ask for the bigger picture,
current events,
our whole wide world.

Complicated. Can we 
agree at least
on that?

Still, the brick is pretty
next to the curve of the glass,
or is it Plexi? 
And that red, oh, that's 
an inviting red, especially 
against the mottled grey.

(let's avoid the idea of a screwdriver –
those screw heads are a distraction –
and distraction is dangerous these days –
what's wanted is momentum)

What would it take to lift 
and push? 

Here's one thing:
there's something about
the news these days
that makes that big red button
really, really tempting.
For better or worse?
Who's to say.