Best Dumbing Poems
We humans are the gods of the computer age. We have mastered the use of ones and zeros. Some argue we have created artificial intelligence. But is it possible that ones and zeros have replaced our intelligence with servitude?
I see
Faces glued to a screen
Trying to decipher all the data seen
People no longer talk
People no longer walk
I don't know when this got its start
Cell phones are now a new body part
I see
Lights flashing
Buzzers dashing
Images blazing
Eyes glazing
Our cars tell us where to drive
And when we will arrive
It is a mystery to me
How an app is all people want to see
We are slowly dissolving into cyber space
Rarely looking up to see a human face
Free thinking is dying
Muscles are atrophying
I think I have found
People are not smarter, but dumbing down
Keyboard courage, slinging hate from afar
Hiding behind an avatar
We suffer from a terrible affliction
It's called binary addiction
So I see on many a blank face
The fate of the human race
Cyber world: one
Humans: zero
All 'dim ones and zeros programming contest poetry contest
Sponsored by: Brahm Baily
10/3/18
THE THREE STOOGES
With their lunatic style of slapstick
These old favourites made their mark
Bangs on head, eye pokes and **** kicks
Were transformed to works of art
But it's not of this trio I speak
Three more egregious, my aim
On these your attention I seek
They're REGRET, SHAME and BLAME
Undesirables of the emotions
With pretence that your life they will serve
If for living this life you've devotion
Treat them with the mistrust they deserve
.....................
SHAME - the one least deserving disdain
The one who gets head bashed and eyes poked
Only loons never feel guilty pain
Without wishing their sins be revoked
With no shame at our dastardly deed
We would surely be heartless and brazen
Not to wish to repent, fault concede
But don't drown in self immolation
.....................
REGRET is a stooge insidious
A crime with no victim but self
Curbing soul in a manner perfidious
Life on hold, and you on the shelf
Have a few, perhaps 'too few to mention'
You mis-spoke? Well by all means retract words
But avoid a total suspension
And don't spend your life looking backwards
.....................
Then BLAME, there's the killer, life dumbing
Though it may give relief and brief feel-good
To beat up some rat who had it coming
But move on! Don't espouse victimhood
The problem with indulging in blame
It makes another the cause, you effected
Paint yourself in a victim's frame
Can you then be source for life corrected?
13 May 2018
"free from conditioned belief
no agenda on our shelf
vibrant as the light of Self
life flows on all by itself”
- Unseeking Seeker
All I wish is to be my genuine self
Free of all agenda, unshackled and free,
And flowing like a winding river
Over shoals, crags and boulders,
Carving its slithering way to the destination,
Until it merges with the mighty ocean.
There’s so much freedom in my roaming.
I don’t have to put on appearances,
Or don a mask, but be original
No agenda to follow, no canons to obey
I can live listening to the gentle dictates of my soul
Guided by the inner light burning in me
Glowing like a lamp in the night
With the oil, poured to feed on.
Retain my natural state without embellishments
Experience the unadulterated joy of being me
Renewing now and then, leaving aside
Old conformities like the sloughed skin of a snake.
I don’t have any deadlines to meet.
Like a square peg in a round hole,
I don’t have to struggle to fit in,
But accepting myself as I am.
I want to travel light, never letting the weight,
Of the world hang heavy on my shoulders.
I don’t desire for any laurels or badges
I don’t wish to fall victim to the numbing
Or dumbing cravings for power, wealth or fame
Never allow any hankering that plagues the soul
And muddle the mind with a desire to see my name
Placed in the list of victors of the world.
All I wish is to build bridges between man and man
Speak the language that connects one to the other
See everything as God’s gift and thank Him for it.
Love, laugh, live and let live, cherishing myself and others!
Why did dancing go out of style
I don’t think it’ll be back for a while
Why did rap music become a thing
It’s like listening to week-old refried chicken wings
And when did art degenerate into indoctrination
It speaks to the dumbing down of this nation
Summing things up, I’d say ~
Our culture’s been left to hyenas and vultures
I was recently invited to a party
and their were quite a lot of people there.
Then it was discovered, I was the only one without a cell phone,
but I didn't really seem to care.
They all enjoyed a good laugh at that simple fact,
me being the only one without one there.
Though when I came with a sly, yet subtle reply
all everyone could do was stare.
I asked, "Why does everyone need one?"
and a woman replied "Well, just in case!"
I said "What, in case you may need to use one?"
"Because one is owned by everyone in the place!"
Then came, "They make your life easier!"
"Not having to remember all the numbers you have amassed."
So I said, "Can you remember your mothers number?"
with a squeamish reply of "No?" We all just laughed.
Sure they may be great for pictures of special times,
like cameras at one time were.
But when it comes to remembering those special needs
that dumbing down can leave you in a blur.
So really we don't all need them
and you can learn to live without them in your life just fine.
I've lived my whole life fine without one,
and you can reach me on my home phone, if you ever find the time.
Danny Boy: 11-27-13
Snake Oil Free Speech
by Odin Roark
Listen close
Here’s what’s going to happen
This is where the rubber leaves the road
The father gripping the wheel
The mother with Coleman cooler at her feet
Beach towels and blankets on her lap
Clueless children in the back seat
Smart-phone-games dumbing down consciousness
You’ll be cruising into the sunset
A barren swamp peppered countryside receding
As oncoming ocean depth
Reflects your personal blood-red sky
All the evil will vanish
As you leave the highway
Slip and slide the sandy road
Dodge beer cans and mistake’s exhausted condoms
Coming suddenly to destination’s end
Your transport will cough its last fumes of gas
Your seat’s cushy-springs will explode
Like coiled serpents in waiting
As icy breath clouds evil-singed windows
Welcome to your Last Stop Beach
Swollen with humanity’s layered dead-cell cake
Iced over with slathered Coppertone delusions
Past attempts at escape
Now but flotsam washed ashore
You’ll try to remain calm
But your virtual-arcade will quickly drown
Along with my Sunday morning radio voice
Gurgling a personal salvation promise
Just for you
And that’s what’s going to happen
The final waves will disappear your sorry lives
Until the awaited day of resurrection
For he told me so
Summer hath come, May blocked the sun, son, yet I know you read this Jedi
poetry.
Airwaves reek of radiation, reverberation stagnant holds no key.
Here we, hear yee, Kings of Alchemy
everyday, every way, mopping floors like janitors, scientists of style, fluidity.
Yet, have you ever seen "Good Will Hunting?" "How do ya' like 'dem apples!?!"
Faces fraught with pale, we do not understand or yet fully comprehend what it
is being accomplished here.
Still, week after week, we build this small community of ambition through
attrition. We pour out our souls...FOR WHAT? Bickering in this pan, flash
flooding through months supposedly in a drought. But, FOR WHAT"S IT ALL
ABOUT. (or Aboot, for my Canadian brother's and sisters)
I give thanks for your interaction, but will not accept judgment of the few. In
fact, purists, I will address you too, by flying high my middle finger, resisting
the itch to even edit this "worthless excuse for a poem". But I know better
than to pester you much more than that. For I too, need readers, and you're
dropping like flies in protest. Still I say: "You're pissed off, it sure beats
getting pissed on!" Perhaps the world really fades to black when everyone
stops talking of you.
There is not much I believe in firmly as the Universe/Multiverse is a million
white canvases. But I, and I do mean butt-eye believe we are waking up. My
duty involves elimination of the snooze button. If wishes were coffee, I'd stir
the world hot, and see that cups overflow with pure energy. The black veil
over our many nations needs lifted, and it's gonna take full concentration,
positive motivation, and quite possibly myriads meditating.
Amen brothers and sisters!
***
If this piece doesn't resonate, I recommend one week off from television and
or video games to improve clarity. Light becomes clear when dimming what's
dumbing you down.
Dumbing us down
no wonder we don't know
unaware for so long
feeding
on what's been eating us
"but the bait tastes so good!"
we say
drooling diabetes down lazy lips
entranced
by high definition devices
all the world's shiny entices
and then there's addictions
the medications
vibrations
frequencies
they're fingering Mother Earth's atmosphere to
seducing mankind
with the silence of her screams
raping our nurturer
as we remain oblivious
these elite thugs
conducting violence above the law
fooling us all
We all pay for dumbing down
educational standards all around
from thriving metropolis to sleepy small town
Incompetency reigns throughout customer service
Doctors' inaccurate diagnoses make patients nervous
Corporation mission statements, worthless lip service
It starts in the classroom, where teachers won't demand
if you want to say something, first raise your hand
Then later on, when rampant cheating's ignored
which leads to society's ox getting gored
So, let's stand up to teacher union's bureaucracy
Their idea of excellence - in truth, mediocrity
Insist on high standards, from grade one through university
and say No! to preference based on 'diversity'
(Lesley Ann Down was an actress in
the Golden Age of live TV drama.)
We live in an age of midgets.
There are no seers now, only lookers,
no values left, apart from digits.
Cash is the hook, and we’re all hookers,
no Carmen Joneses, only Bridgets.
Did you have to learn the equation
(“have to”? – what an odd suggestion!)
which represents acceleration?
It’s printed now, beside the question.
No gravity, just gravitation.
Subtitle writers, now, can’t spell,
and language teachers know no grammar.
When banks are hiring tellers, well,
in Alabaster, Alabama,
they sing aloud, “You Never Can Tell”.
Let’s get somewhat more sarcastic.
Our carpenters just never get wood.
Today our craftsmen just squirt mastic,
then, as any moron could,
they clip on bits of precut plastic.
We’ve got police (I like this best!)
who, far from being Texas Rangers,
have never passed exams or tests,
and can’t, by law, face any dangers,
or run rash risks, like make arrests.
No Richard Rodgers, Buddy Holly,
no more Stoller (as in Lieber),
but ‘tis the season to be jolly –
after all, there’s Justin Bieber!
Hence, loathéd melancholy!
Ever been hurt so much, you fall in love with being sad?
I'm learning to take the good with the bad
Maybe I wouldn't be so heartless if I ever got a hug from my dad
Maybe that's why I write until I leave blood on the pad
As soon as I pick up the pen, I get to slaughtering
The rose that grew without watering
Michael Myers with a pen because I'm constantly torturing
No brain inside my head, so there's no remorse when I'm attacking my pad and tormenting
I'm honest about everything, you'd probably prefer it if I was to mask it up
If I was to write Gucci gang a million times you'd lap it up
When it comes to talent, how can today's music artists lack this much
Stop getting offended, this world doesn't laugh enough
I was born without a brain and removed my feelings, so good luck with offending me
I'm attacking the pad like I'm Mike Tyson, I don't need anyone defending me
For speaking my beliefs they'll try suspending me
Well I'm sick of people because they're never who they pretend to be
I'm the evil genius
No longer dumbing it down for people's convenience
I grew up on Nas, Big Pun, Rakim, Eminem and Wu-Tang
So I don't care about this generation of garbage rappers or your new slang
I'm unsure how so many people can have dumb minds
Posting pictures with guns, like the Police can't go online
You act tough, but when things get too hot, you'll melt
The funniest thing is, you're all snitching on yourself
I was dragged through the mud, but I'm back
I'm learning to take the good with the bad
Maybe I wouldn't be so heartless if I ever got a hug from my dad
Maybe that's why I write until I leave blood on the pad
languid doldrums, swaying lanyard, sails hanging loose
dreary small drums reverberate, neurons dumbing down
nerve ends fuse, sunlit shadows depict my numbing frown
feelings grind dull, thoughts stranded in the dangling sluice
sudden intermittent draught, strengthening breeze
mind and body free-falling, spontaneous pressure
sinews stretch, skin on skin, pulsating probing pleasure
senses tingle, tickling laugh, lengthening squeeze
breathe in deep, sniff olfactory aroma drift
gustatory tasting plates licked and tongued
erotic amalgam squished and belly-bunged
nostrils flare, exotic pungent odour whiffed
cavort, canoodle, drooling lips, flavours of the beast
rhythms rise where delirious frenzy can often be
harmonic screaming near the edge of cacophony
weave distorted images, dream-dancing above the feast
fleers, seekers, washed-up innocent sinning on the beach
subdividers and King Canute howling at the wind
viral loads onboard, invisible invaders grinned
collective cowardice casts the truth spinning out of reach
Degradation of the soul is my lifeline. Burning flames suck out the sublime traits, of overlords stretching to take their turn in front of the lingering hatred of conformity. Your pitying powers of guilt spread over my skin, smother my well-being in sensations of over-bearing heat, lick at the open wound of my heart, as they spit the bitter taste of your fears all around. A creeping shadow forms around these bitter feelings, acts as my blanket to cover me in the warmth of their recognition, to re-energise the chemicals rushing towards their neutered end, speeding so fast they race through the kaleidoscope of my dreams. Slipping through under the cover of hollow emotions, I allow their desires to take the place of society’s army; I allow them to ride over the top of any control cells, letting chaos rain, reign over my tethered passions, the temerity of my hopes and any other sullied temptations of my heart, my soul, my whole existence. This blackening shadow, this over-riding wholeness of insanity, this enlightening feeling of impossible emotions destroys the comfort of nothingness which bears no ill health, kills all that’s near or dear and seeks company neither desired nor recognised. The banality causes the body to spread as the mind shrinks, causes the dumbing down of thoughts as ideology all but disappears, traps my silent thoughts in a veil of happiness that is neither permanent nor of any consequence, resulting in love that is dead from the waist up. This comfort, this conformity, this emptiness is not mine. I reject these and any other offering from the trough of this anaesthetised gene pool. I reject these temptations, these sterile gifts for the conquering feeling of chaos, for the feeling of an unrecognised and unchartered future, for the uncertainty of the mind, for this love of life – pleasure and pain.
Television killed the radio.
Smart phones killing Television.
Dumbing down the nation.
Without any intervention
all will end in a mental institution!!!
15/02/2016
Silent one & Timothy Hicks Grook contest
They say poetry is irrelevant in our generation,
The underground genre’s embracement.
Literature is now a part of the digital age
Is what they claim it.
They look at today's pop culture
Which takes most the blame.
I must say there is no shame expressing my game;
To think different is all that I'm saying.
It's time to prove past generations wrong
That we still have intelligence.
The dawn of a new age in which we will make it known.
Giving the 21st century of what they want and need.
They say our generation lacks knowledge
I guess because of our music.
We lack art, we’re too ignorant,
It's like an empty bottle with no fluids.
Is art truly dead?
That true art that aims for the head?
That art that hits your body and soul,
Would they care to listen to stories untold?
Is it possible that I make myself relevant,
Like past great artists before me?
Making myself known as a future legend for later.
Is it possible to be wise as Solomon
And use my poetry for inspiration?
Perhaps I can reminisce to Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou
Connecting my poetic style to a Hip Hop basis;
Connecting from my spirit to my Afrocentricity.
Or maybe what I'm saying is a bunch of crap with no persuasion.
Maybe our generation is too dumb, calling us the dumb age.
Screw that…
I'm not dumbing it down because of my complexion.
My verse will come at em hard like I’m flexin’.
I'm way too deep to think small instead I aim for the highest.
I swear I will make my name great because it's more than just art...
It's about legacy.