Modernity's Plight

without God,

life becomes the world

we all live and see

and what is there

to see?

without spirit

this body is all we

have

—and

the dust under our feet.

 

science strips away

the mysterious essence of what is

heart and mind;

the stars in the night sky.

coldness sets in

the blatant reality of life;

living without meaning

without purpose

except what we futilely attempt to

make it.

without skin

we are flesh and bone,

organs transferring

blood supply

—living short of a century.

 

expected to live

for a world that neither cares

nor has control

—make my own way in the world

forge my own path

through the rugged seas

to the New World.

 

living for dreams

hope

that neither foresees

nor exists.

content supposedly

with what here

is before me.

 

i am ape

Neanderthal

i eat the ants from the earth

i am an automaton

reliant on material goods

to live

to enjoy life

—yet what did our ancestors have?

Surely,

life wasn’t created for TVs, computers and

cars

—a PENTAX K100D

snapping away

to capture the unlasting essence

of the world?

 

pleasure

is short-lived

most of our days

full of pain

and neutrality.

to say “g’day”

offer a smile

to the passer-by

is taboo.

 

memory

like gold

our dreams as real

than the life we live.

 

everything hopeful and beautiful

laughable

thrown in the trash bin.

 

take away my clothes

strip off my skin

my flesh

gauge my eyes out

drill a hole in my head

insert

a flash drive of ideals

values

and beliefs

into my brain

—what will you leave me

with?

Reviews

[Damien Dsoul]

It would have been even sweeter had the words been fettered with more metaphoric aspect, other than the didactic undertone I tend to percieve while reading through the poem. The words are straight, though once in a while, the lines do capture some rather vivid twist in irony. Impressive.