In the paperless society
Newspapers are online news services,
Bird cages are lined with mouse pads,
And there is nothing to wrap fish in.
(There is no paper
In the paperless society.)

In the paperless society
Hot air dryers supplant towels,
Bio-degradable plastic
Displaces toilet paper,
And Kleenex boxes dispense
Old five-inch floppy disks.

School papers are done on lap-tops,
Memos on pocket computers;
Etch-a-Sketches replace scratch pads,
And all drawings are done on Adobe
(Rather primitive sounding, that).
Posters are electronic billboards.

Bumper-stickers are refrigerator magnets.
Political placards are reduced to graffiti.
The Congressional Record is an LP
(Oops! CD-ROM!). Paper hats,
Paper airplanes, and origami
Are all things of the past.

The libraries close
(You can buy one on CD).
The paper mills go out of business
(There is nothing to be milled).
The forests are saved
(Wood is going out of style as well).

There is no more need of paper,
Paper products, or wood,
And we’re phasing out vegetables
In favor of protein tablets.
Animals next; People, down the road.
AI is in! Who needs organics?

In the electronic society
There is no need of plants,
No need of animals.
No need of people.
There are only electronics
In the electronic society.