Not Poetry. Quatrain Verse in English & Swedish. Dagsverser. On the Mundane & the Arcane.
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
Beltway stuck lascivious
in politics insidious
Flimsy pretexts devious
brings on aggression hideous
Elated by advanced hardware
men in power act like boys
Those ‘warriors of the armchair’
want power, ribbons & toys
Safely back home they adore war
martially heroic lore
Ordering troops to roar & gore
to settle a phantom score:
Merciless U.S. guns
destroyed poor Iraq
Couldn’t even sweep the crumbs
left from this ‘cake walk’
While the U.S. been unable to defeat
‘medieval’ Taliban, al-Qaeda bands
North Koreans, Cubans or Vietnamese
‘enemies’ in the world’s modest back lands
Now foments a new Cold War with the Kremlin
such as in Ukraine by regime change coup
but Donetsk & Crimea, far from crumbling
stands up to Kiev’s neo-Nazi hue
Thus fresh from ’successes’ up next:
Pivoting with mindless ease
supercilious muscles flexed:
Trying bully the Chinese!
Droning on about its ‘finest hour’
while fading fast its sense & power
+)
-the Beltway = the U.S. power elite
-phantom score = Contrary to e.g. John Quincy Adams’ foreign policy aspirations of 1821:
“But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.
The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force. She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.”
off with ding, ring or ting
or flashing lights show
then it ain’t the real thing!
If by naked eye seen
it ain’t observing
while when shown on a screen
real, worth preserving!
Smart new electronics
does not mind contradiction
though impairs mnemonics
it knows not of restriction
Cluelessly we vociferate
as its downsides proliferate
Car alarm going off
lights brightly flashin’
An electronic cough
in throbbing passion
Keeps us awake all night nearly
by pained wailing protraction
A system that cavalierly
advertises ‘protection’
Pounding our poor hearing
Will it not disarm?
Sure but, persevering
can’t wait to rearm
When in 2016 my spouse tried to get me to adopt a smart phone I told her that I already had a pacifier as a baby, that I hoped to live out my last year(s) head held high – not with my nose stuck on a tiny screen, and it’s ring being my command.
Turning me a smartphone
run-of-the-mill clone
good grief, I moan & groan
What’s next? A small drone?
Hyping of cyber connection
how’s that an act of affection?
I nominate as emblematic
while Flora & Fauna glower
of Society symptomatic:
The ubiquitous Leaf Blower
Its credentials are compelling:
* Viciously vociferous
* Dust stirring jet, fetid smelling
* Exhaust carboniferous
Factually there’s no disputing
it’s to Nature quite abusive
being so profusely polluting
and to Neighborhoods intrusive
It replaces rasping raking
of erstwhile such enjoyment
and while by ‘techno fix’ faking
it creates unemployment
Its shortsightedness enigmatic
does not provide a solution
Of our carelessness symptomatic
just shifts dirt in winked collusion!
So by pretense are we then absolved
though the core issues remain unsolved?
Planet privatization
while polar caps melting
Gobbling globalization
while hurricanes pelting
Economic disparity
in consumptive temerity
Political polarity
for us people austerity
Perpetually prodigious predation
leaving victims without restitution
Usurious financialization
where’s its societal contribution?
Fades now erstwhile solidarity
in rear mirror’s celerity
with jaded familiarity
and counterfeit sincerity
“Yeah but, I’m really not sure what you mean
as been importantly tied up on my screen?”
Consumer electronics, what impatience
be they alarms, smart phones, pads or scanners!
Where went subtlety, flirtation, elation
as well courtesy, humor & manners?
Outpouring in relentless profusion
steeped in undiscerning commotion
Suspended in a Land of Illusion
pounding away in self promotion
High time now to disengage with forethought
as fear being changed in to a robot!
Din of metal pushing through air
nostrils flared from tail pipe spew
Tires squealing, engines roar, horns blare
as traffic mounts tempers brew
Snug in ‘my cell phone booth on wheels’
who bothers about traffic?
Electronic Heaven appeals
am perfectly seraphic!
Til someone cuts me off of course
purloined civility shorn
then I turn deep-rootedly coarse
hanging dumbly on the horn
+)
metal = here: vehicles
They talk about, talk, talk about & talk
boorishly self absorbed trivia
whether they drive, shop, do rest room & walk
wherever & in Bolivia
Unfazed they are letting it all hang out
where may quietness be found at all?
excitedly they gush, prattle & spout
letting us overhear every call.
Listening less than talking & talking
puzzled by the outside objection
whether they’re eating, sleeping or stalking
love that ring or ting: got connection!
+)
‘smartphony’ = someone who traded his or her pacifier (a gateway drug) for a smart phone, and are under the illusion that it bestows unique importance & efficiency with few trade-offs