Ode to Modern Life, Part II

It is but a blink and a lucky roll of the dice

Since our race survived the miserable ice

Since we could die as quick as frail mice

 

Since we hunted and struggled and fought

Since we died from any small injury we got

Since we knew only what the earth taught

 

Now millions popping pills, or drinking

Living with misery inside, and thinking

Why is it so sore just to go on existing?

 

We built this new world in a mere blink

A place of ease where we smile and wink

At what we left behind… or so we think

 

Factories, markets, computers and schools

Oh, we were such short-sighted little fools

We really thought we had found the tools

 

To take away all the struggle and the pain

To forsake our legacy but still keep the gain

To be happy forever and yet still stay sane

 

And now look around at this world we built

Where millions live in worry, fear and guilt

Like the more we grow, the more we wilt

 

Millions of suicides, and millions of pills

All of this pain because we invented bills

And hours of work, and cheap nasty thrills

 

To escape from survival and starvation

We invented medical bills and taxation

We invented credit, loans, and inflation

 

And brought ourselves to this low ebb

Where many just can’t escape the web

Money and bills, and he-said-she-said

 

Petty arguing and banking and working

Paying, dodging, excusing and explaining

Wondering whether your wife is straying

 

The kids, the parents, the bank, the boss,

Health, religion, terror, invasion and chaos

Oh, why can’t we understand the bathos?

 

We came out of our caves and saw the light

We thought the future was so clear in sight

Thought we could grab dreams in the night

 

But everything we did only made it all worse

Put down the spear and picked up the purse

Only to find that money is the stronger curse

Reviews

[OtherWorldWoman]

I am extremely impressed. You took the thoughts and the passion of them out of my mind. This is my thinking exactly and I think you did a wonderfully creative job at portraying it all. It is definitely more than a worthy read. Maybe you could review some of my stuff? You seem to have similar ideas, so it would be cool. No obligation though, of course. Just an idea. Anyway, really good work :)

[Nothing Personal]

Zoe, magnificent topic for starters and I love your poem. You have highlighted all the curses of our society and you've framed it perfectly..This is a well balanced poem on the theme of whether we should rethink the way we live and what hazards money has brought to us. On one hand, I would be never be writing this review if we didn't evolve the way we did. On the other, I have to worry so many things that my free will is subsided I don't know where. To live a life chosen by whim is impossible. Thank you Zoe. An excellent poem..

[.]

. wow, zoe ... you've really, really hit the nail on the head with this one ... this is the dart that goes straight to the heart of that dart board of existence all of us have to deal with ... the inequitable distribution of wealth ... and everything leading to it ... and its consequences ... have a substantial role to play in bringing about the degeneration of the quality of life we live ...

. it took me a really long time to comprehend that it is because there are things that i cannot do as part of a profession ... that land me in a place ... where i can dream of making a difference or eventually joining active politics ... the money compulsion is a huge one ... because we have to work ... to live ... and in that quest ... we do things that are just not "us" and that takes a toll on us ...

. this poem ... to me ... is all that and more ... it flows beautifully and the rhyming is seamless ... every question you ask and every issue you raise is a real one ... this earnestness with which you observe things around you ... and the talent with which you write about them ... will go a long way in opening many eyes ... i have always believed that the pen is mightier than the sword ... and now i also believe that the poet's mind is mightier than that of a military strategist or arms dealer or financial wizard ...

. the first part of a poet's journey is expression ... and you excel ... and the second part is visibility ... and in that too ... i'm sure you'll excel if you put in adequate efforts ... because your poetic voice is meant to be heard ...