Tuesday, May 31

Vowel

...

We the a generation
we with tiger parents
underneath hippie paint
b or less only good for a
trip to cubicle coal mines
shoveling other people's load
there's kids in china that would
starve to get this job
some of them already have
we the chairs with rollers
where are these wheels supposed to go
swoop out the door, a flock of
keyboard jockeys, arms spread like
flapping of freedom
to nowhere, like icarus we rise
and plummet to linoleum earth
while our space is filled by
eager replacements with
number tickets

...

We the e generation
we cyborgs, we symbiotes in plastic shells
linked with our hyperness in digital bondage
no base belong to us
we avatars of virtual godhoods
where atheism a nonissue
every server a personal deity
every mod, hax, exploit, lol, omg
an action programmed by someone
other than us
we rattle our chains, these strands of
neural nets, these plans of domination
and dominated, as we struggle to remember
our mortal frames
we unshackled consciousness, embedded
in silicon
we free ourselves from elements and
journey, candy journey, recall to
the only home we know
control alt delete
reset

...

We the i generation
deafen our ears with innocent
buds of blasting volumeness
we the tic tac text
fooled into thinking letters are
people, as we float past skin
and smiles, tears and sins
we blinded by a shiny progress
of supple elegance, when wrinkle
people subject to planned obsolescence
there is no moore's law for humans
we stepping stones of humorous memes
do we step, or are we stepped upon
we microwave our noses with soy
protein isolate, to clean out stench
of warzone smoke, burning flesh like
recycling, foreigners in little green
bins with cycle of life arrows and
it's all groovy because john
sings imagine in our
soap bubble

...

We the o generation
organisms of titillation
celebrity reality with a lusty
hedonism, or places we've never
been, and never will be, tanned
throes of passionate people playing
we voyeurs, like weeds we kill
our televisions to have them spring
forth as culture flowers, hey man
it's the only world we know, since
reality is broken and the flashing
lights I can control, sluice nuggets
of pleasure in my pan because
there isn't enough luxury to go around
we the virtual rich with our digital
mansions, with horny pixels at my
command, because if someone's going
to derive euphoria from this
madness, it might as well
be we

...

We the u generation
we the compassionate mantra
whether dalai lama or jesus
muhammad or abraham
dawkins or huxley
or somewhere in between
we realize our self interest
tied together with usb cords of
group interest, this internet of
patience waits for trolls with
/hugs
we wait for the takers
we makers, we chomskyites in spirit
if not in practice, the true form
of democracy is love, when we decide
to build a vote for everyone, when
we humanity believe this universe
is universal, our fences of prejudice
and language and affluence divide a
shared experience
our inalienable right to
think and feel and lift our voices
to the eternal sky and just
vowel.

...

23 comments:

  1. Wow..this is really powerful stuff! And very creatively done too!

    Vortex of mundanity
    Obfuscates
    While we, the so-called humans
    Engage ourselves in
    Lethal leisure

    I really liked poem-with-a-message here, Matt..

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  2. dude this is blistering...but oh so true of the generation...particularly the i part and the digital dependance we have...great one shot

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  3. Twas a long pleasurable read. I enjoyed the creativity. Well done.

    Bless!

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  4. A witty and blistering read-through of a generation...the "i" and the "u" were my favorite stanzas, I think. What with the trolls and the /hugs and the warzone revelations...

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  5. This is quite a ride! Love the last stanza and particularly the way you've ended it.

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  6. And still we are the generation which can make a change :)

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  7. Well done. Preach it brother!

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  8. Love the creativity you display in depicting the aeiou generation. This is both imaginative and truthful. Great one shot.

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  9. Yep all me me me
    Makes one just want to flee
    You tell the truth in your one shot words
    As some of this generations crap should be left for the birds

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  10. Wow, this hit me like a rant from a coffee shop pulpit. The only thing missing was the snapping of agreeing fingers. Nice!

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  11. "no base belong to us" not any more--an excellent vocabulary lesson through the jungle of vowels, too many truths to count. Fine fine writing, Matt...slash hugs for you, and another reread for me for the halibut. I think i is my favorite '..journey, candy journey..' just music. But it's hard to top the finale in u.

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  12. Witty and well done. Great one shot. :)

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  13. There were some really great lines here. Some of my favorites were:

    "...only good for a
    trip to cubicle coal mines
    shoveling other people's load..."

    "...every server a personal deity
    every mod, hax, exploit, lol, omg
    an action programmed by someone
    other than us..."

    I could keep on, but I don't want to take up any more of your space...Great job!

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  14. Damn, this is good. I mean that wholeheartedly.

    "All your base belong to us!"

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  15. Amen, preach on. Some strong writing, heavy lines, mechanical words that lead us through a space to see a vision, then were moved again. Great write.

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  16. very cleverly done! really enjoyed it.

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  17. Sometimes Y! Sometimes Y! Why do we exist in such a fashion, dreaming on the ether, existing in a cosmos of materialism that strips our very souls from our tired and manipulated bodies? Oops! Feel a rant coming on...won't take up too much space, but thought this was a powerful, potent, write! A standing ovation for this one indeed :)

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  18. Ah, excellent observations made from within. Whether good or bad, we are a part of it all.

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  19. Fantastic concept well delivered. I am now a fan.

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  20. This is awesome! I am going to have to come back and reread, there are so many levels to this to take it all in in one read!

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  21. A very perceptive and intelligent write. Will take several readings to tease out all the allusions and nuances in this wonderfully complex poem. Great job!

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  22. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this. Your creativity has no end and this piece is special is SO many ways. Too many sweet, delectable words to even try and point out in my commentary. This is a fantastic analysis and composition of current human conditions. I can't say enough! I dig..dig...dig it. ~ Rose

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