Not Poetry. Quatrain Verse in English & Swedish. Dagsverser. On the Mundane & the Arcane.
Beguiled the restive mill malltitudes
unbeknownst fumbling for meaning
chasing acquisitive magnitudes
harshly gleaning, overweening
Fleetingly on cloud nine
their eyes glowering
mining for gold online
those crisp screens scouring
Soon enough fizzles their proclivity
into poor paralyzed passivity
+)
malltitudes = (by license) the thronging multitudes at malls
Not just merely a vidiot
(that bleary eyed screen stoic)
but across the board idiot
in antics non-heroic
Of ‘click here’ stuff lascivious
the warrior of armchair
Otherwise seems oblivious
not known to be self-aware
And the less he understands
the likelier he grandstands
People wobbly, down weighted
munching on escapist diet
bodily temples sated
stuffed they’re suffering disquiet
Out on shopping paths cutthroat
for latest jolt quick fix
while can’t be bothered to vote
no time for politics
Shall they ever see themselves
as with manners oafish?
Unwittingly pushy elves
so utterly foolish
To instant gratification
they feel divinely ordained
In inane alienation
must always be entertained
What do folks so disconnected
think if they hear climate ‘change’?
Might their response be expected:
‘No exchange policy? Strange!’
These are observations not lies
watched most of them with my own eyes
+)
-elves = here: ace consumers, living out their acquisitive dreams, their pointed elf ears (antennas actually) honing in on best deals on the most popular items
One seeming seamless mall
with roars ‘cariphonia’
and merchandising gall
Of this consists its essence:
Ever fleeting new thrills!
Where to escape its presence?
High up in dusty hills!
The clear-eyed who wisely topangued
won’t so easily be harangued
+)
-‘cariphonia’ = the sound of cars in heavy traffic
-topangued = to move up in the hills of Topanga, away from LA
Stuck in hollow routine
everyday habits
where daily we careen
hop like do rabbits?
Thus we stagger overtired
in culture implicit
not unwittingly aspired
Hoping to elicit:
A conclusive escape unafraid
from consumerism’s shtick masquerade
“Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.”
-Thucydides (c.460 B.C.– c.400 B.C.)
If restraint implies ‘voluntary’ restraint would we these days recognize something so over the top quaint?
Yes, in Antiquity
but regarded now
as mere obliquity
Here is why & how:
Today’s absence of restraint
sustains mindless shopping
above all for more war paint
unjust wars not stopping
Fans fiery fire
absent qualms
by our Empire
dropping bombs
While voices of restraint
raised rarely, echo faint
Beware of ads offering ‘free’ gifts
by busty ‘babes’ with rosy cheeks
Beware too that those composing gifs
might be high-tech chattering geeks
Beware of the neighbor’s dog
as well as of all rifts
Beware of much too strong grog
and those drunks draining fifths
Best always to stay aware
that Human Life doesn’t play fair
In this verse speaks a ‘victim’ of the suggestion, found outrageous, that she turn vegan to mitigate and delay the impending climate collapse:
Why must I be wary?
Who says I can’t eat
either eggs or dairy
chicken, pork or meat?
My palate shall come first
must taste delicious
Though my ‘for profit’ thirst
as well ambitious!
Never mind what I like eating
won’t the planet keep rotating?
Speedy thin ice skating
a dared dalliance
Perhaps fascinating
if as vain valiance?
When our nerve endings are worn
they’ll need most frequent jolts
When in the mundane forlorn
must keep upping the volts!
You have only use for those acts
or attempts captivating
which after hyped up to its max
shall still feel scintillating
In these so called ‘debates’
we’re fed thin gruel
while opens all floodgates
to base & cruel
Those scripted ‘debaters’:
Mirage creators
in-the-wings dictators
slick myth narrators
Discombobulated
populace fretful
seen our hopes deflated
by priors fateful
Even so we keep up our drool
the sure fate of the hapless fool!