THREE WORLDS OF MEMORY

The Information Age and memory

You keep a memory in three competing worlds.

Digital:
     Scientists in white lab coats
     engineered a world
     that flawlessly remembers all your inputs,
     your memory outsourced to a secure location,
     like what a child thinks heaven is like,
     where you ask God every question you ever wanted.
     Until one day,
     the server crashes,
     or power is lost,
     and the screen goes dark.

Paper:
     Since the time of the Han
     the sheets have been there
     reliable, tangible, unfiltered,
     open to the page,
     and the words are the same
     as yesterday,
     the same as today,
     and will be the same tomorrow.
     A dense treatise, today's newspaper, a 3x5 card;
     you carry paper memory like a security blanket.
     until one day
     you misplace it
     and it gathers dust on a shelf.

Biological:
     You and your synapses are
     the ever present device.
     You could be naked on a desert island
     and it would be there with you
     all you need to do
     is exercise its muscles--
     no external source
     no object to hold
     nothing to lose
     till one day
     you forget.

Reviews

[Luke L]

Great stuff man! A very original concept I like it. Keep up the good work

[Horizons]

I loved and learnt something new from the piece you penned here. It's a nice write and i'm flattered reading such a poem about world and how you expressed the whole world into the three things i loved it. I enjoyed the poem. your idea's unique to think in that manner about world, it's a creative poem. Well done.

[rutherford]

Glad you liked it's creativity. Thanks for stopping by.

[OTownPete]

All but the last one may be safe from Mr. Al Simers. Interesting piece but that is what I have come to expect when I visit your online house Rutherford. Your friend in words, Pete

[rutherford]

Glad you liked it.

[Michael G. Smith]

You always seem to get a laugh out of me. Not many poets do that. I think the laugh comes from our thoughts syncing. I feel a sense of blessing have lived on the cusp between paper writing and portable digital devices. I still have many mini notebooks filled with poetic ideas and now have all the latest technology. They are two different worlds with two different feels both with the same result.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Interesting idea... I like the way that you explored all of the different ways that we as a species have learned to hold on to our memories. Actually, the idea of having "memories" in and of itself is quite interesting when you really think about it. As I said before, i like the separation of the three ideas, and the ways in which they are all very different, but also very much the same. Thought provoking piece indeed.

[rutherford]

Sarah,
Thanks for the review. Reflecting my current fascinating of what how the digital world is affecting our memories and behavior. There was a time when writing was invented that some feared it would make us lazy.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Good poem on the old memory 'bin'. Just as well that some memories get erased! They say that water holds memory, that would make a subject for a poem!

[John]

I like the way the three sections end with the loss of memory irrespective of how it is recorded. Perhaps, a final part could deal with this inevitable loss, and what it might mean, if anything.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

Now...I go from the past into the present of this write...again I liked the usage of the words:

You keep a memory in three worlds
--Digital
--Paper
--Biological

and then you run a gamut with the understanding of each and everyone...

[rutherford]

Glen -- Thanks for your review.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

you're welcome...a lot of reading request from you today...

[rutherford]

Some are new but also have a lot saved up and have been on a bit of a binge since discovering WC. Expect I'll slow to a crawl very soon.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

I see...no qualms...yours are a bit easier to read...and do not fall in the same rut about "love" and "heartbreak" each time I read one...

[Rita L. Sev]

Paper is still my favorite. I still write and journal in longhand, and write reminders on post-it notes... yes, like a security blanket. You have a way with similes, John.

[rutherford]

Thanks RIta. I'm with you--paper is still my favorite. I've keep a journal for 33 years (on an off) and just the act of carrying them around gives me a feeling of security.

[Pryde Foltz]

You have such a unique and clever pen. I am a fan.

[rutherford]

Pryde, very kind of you.