LAMENT

Sometimes stuff is so fine

I can’t even deal with it, so

I just ride on by...

And think.

If I were walking?

That patch of green might be

a tree it would be good to know,

or that creek a place to rest and

soak my feet.

On the other hand,

how could I live if

it took a day to reach the next

town, or a month long journey

to visit my folks?

If walking were the way,

I’d spend most nights at work.

How would I get all those groceries

home? Or take us out to eat,

like everyone before cars?

How did they do it? All those

villagers and knights, pilgrims

and farmers we know were there

with good legs and sore feet?

And after a day of hard labor, too.

It was the way of things for

Sophocles, Ovid, and Keats,

to live in peace,take one step

at a time, and make love with

no distractions.

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

We are constantly moving, trying to catch up with technology. Some do adapt, while others have hard times doing it. I'm pretty sure people were happier in those simple times, enjoying the natural vs the artificial. They enjoyed the simple and little things in life.

[Vol]

Sami,
When I look back to the last eras before cars and paved roads, I see Victorian homes with crazy gingerbread decorations, windows as works of art, towers, turrets, wonderful details on even the most mundane of things. We WALKED by them and had time to appreciate every little nuance. Cars and roads in the nineteen twenties and thirties are why Picasso and his friends invented Cubism... shapes and colors are all we see, and beauty is left behind.

[Sami Khalil]

Wowzy woooo
I love it
We need to go back in time; do you where I can get a time machine???

[Vol]

So sorry, my Delorean is fine, but that Flux Capacitor is toast, I'm afraid!
Vol

[Sami Khalil]

Hehehe! You are welcome sir.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Indeed we may lament some of the values we seem to have lost over time but we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater and decry all the advances we have made. Nicely penned.

[Vol]

John!
Amen... I could have written about the joys of soft toilet paper, deodorant, toothpaste and flatscreen TVs. I love them all, but they are also a trap and keep us indoors, away from the peace that was the reward of no technology.
Vol

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I don't disagree Vol that things such as computers, mobile phones and flat screen TVs divert us from physical, face to face interactions. For young people it is worse as many are now lacking in social skills. But as always 'man' will adapt.

[Vol]

John,
I'm loving this discussion!
Sometimes, like two hundred fifty years ago, we do better. but mostly, societal adaptation means power to the government and oppression of the people. THAT is the history of mankind.
I had a physics professor in 1972 who predicted the next step in human evolution would be AI... long before there was such a thing. I have no hope for that adaptation, either.
Vol

[John Alexander McFadyen]

It was thought that fire would destroy the human race. Stone weapons and tools, Iron weapons and tools, gunpowder, the atomic bomb. AI is just another development that will be outdated every day by its own development and advancement. I remain hopeful more good will come of it. Some humans will always use such developments to thir advantage rather than the collective good.

[Vol]

Yes, there have been many "Threats" to the continuation of our species, This one more to human culture than existance. There has been much speculation about what would happen if some great artificial intelligence decided we were a greater liability than an asset. Once in the system, once in control of the system, as self-learning, self-repairing entity might leave us out of its loop and we might have to find a way, against strong odds to deactivate it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8N72t7aScY

[andrew mitchell]

Enjoyed your excellent piece Vol, the narrative connects with the reader so well and that’s all I can say lol. Great stuff!

[Vol]

Andrew,
Thanks, man! My favorite scripture is ""Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your hands. A hard admonition in a world of war, earthquakes, hurricanes, and over population.
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I wish we could go back to your last stanza...maybe we would all be in better shape and happier.
My dad was a kid when there were still horse drawn buggies...not many, but some.
He and my mom had their dates riding English saddle in Central Park.
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
Wow! My folks at a tiny college after WWII...
Vol