One lone man against Leviathan
With its signals and its code
It’s forms and formulation
What’s a soul to do,
Bend and yield as a willow
Or stand proud and tall as an oak?
You tell me,
Or better yet ask Jonah
In the belly of the beast.
(8/22/24)
Pre Computer Age
By: Miracle Man
December 30, 2021
Coffee stains on unlined paper;
a number two lead pencil,
erasure mostly gone.
Thoughts that appeared as vapor;
I desired to be prehensile,
each break of dawn.
What was needed was a short pencil
with a long erasure.
Tom
Digital Era technology
Computer Age machinery
Lost and found
In the Information Age frown
Taking place, face to face
The desire to do, whatever, in grace
Necessary to get the praise
For speed and space
Of knowledge turnover
Required for super minded processor
Gathered and decided
To influence their devices
On computer reality communication
By transmitting information
Into a discrete numeric routine
Merry go round machine
propaganda wins
when the symbolics are yours
so best be careful
old philosophies
will contain a new meaning
your mental time sold
one is paid to wait
on a clock or on others
grace and forgiveness
or money per hour
then earned are for your free will
this computer age
cannot be wasted
old job creativities
always disappear
so create something
don't let the artist fall dead
sculpt script paint or think
stan sand
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
Made quite an impression, it seems
On the chair, I've been glued to so long
The indentation is an exact replica
Of my rear, hmmm, sounds like a song
Me bum and me chair are going steady
Only leave when I have to go poop
Methinks maybe atrophy is setting in
So I think I'll shoot some hoops
It's surely a result of this computer age
Our bodies will soon have no use
Our heads will be the size of basketballs
But our bodies will be an excuse
Excuse to hold up our 100-pound heads
With its gigabytes of storage space
We'll actually need some kind of device
Or we'll continue to fall on our face
Made quite an impression, it surely seems
On the chair, I've been glued to so long
Thinks I'll go for a ride in my old jalopy
An old Dodge I bought for a song
He was a typewriter in a computer age
Never wanting to turn the next page
A married man with children that behave
And a pretty wife who was like his slave
He did the outside and she did the inside
When he directed, she stayed by his side
When in a car with her, he was the driver
And at the local pool, he was the high diver
A man stuck in the Eisenhower decade
When products sold were American made
As an NRA member, he owned a fancy gun
And a rifle to hunt raccoons just for the fun
He was really happy when Reagan had won
But not so happy when a new race had run
Today he feels dazed, confused and meek
As his party loyalty has quickly gotten weak
“Made you look you dirty crook!”
And all those colourful phrases
Have vanished from our lexicon
They now belong to the ages!
“Keep your nose to the grindstone!”
Is another from way back when
So sad they've all but disappeared
Wish they could go back again!
Since the dawn of the computer age
We speak in a different fashion
Conversing in very short sentences
Using acronyms without much passion!
We now seem to have lost the ability
To have an intelligent conversation
Emailing, texting, or some such device
Or some other glitzy presentation!
I really long for those simpler days
When people took time to listen
And all the world seemed friendlier
Now feels like something's missing!
A re-post!
Another day
here on the fabled Lower East Side
(Loisaida)
and I head
out for iced green tea
and a blueberry muffin (probably could have ordered a croissant
(never been to Paris - con't speak Friend - remember that from the Honeymooners?)
The kosher place is across the street
but one's make one's decisions
I probably will stream in Jewish services
The computer age is upon us(for better or worse)
Mi madre is
still alive
my father gone
for quite a number of years
He set my poetry to music
Another composer - gone - to who knows where....
The Power of One
Computer age impasse...the strength of one;
the fear of stroke of midnight had begun.
One second only, how our lives would change;
our current ways we'd have to rearrange.
The strength of one...one second soon could cause
such catastrophic world events because
computer programs would defy planned charts;
schedules for flights and trains would fall apart.
Communication, electronic needs
would not perform with wrong computer feeds.
All bank accounts would never be accessed
until we could recover from the mess.
One second only from disaster time
when year two-thousand flipped from 'ninety-nine!
Came stroke of midnight...the power of one...
that one feared second...was dissolved and done.
A year-long worry came and went away;
we all recall the fear of Y-2K.
The force of one held humans hostage to
a tragedy that never did come true.
Sandra M. Haight
~6th Place~
Premiere Contest: A Programming Contest - all 'dim ones and zeros
Sponsor: Brahn Bailey
Judged: 11/05/2018
~4th Place~
Contest: One
Sponsor: Rob Carmack
Judged: 09/12/2015
Sit for Short Spell
Do I need to be in lead or left behind
Or end up lost where no one can find
Perhaps exactly where I want to be
Half way between you and also me.
Middle of roader really could be called
Over hill and dale things have hauled
Ending up at dearly beloved's door
Seven years ago and then four score.
Troops were in Gettysburg so I heard
At Appomattox Courthouse was word
War had been over and finally done
Still are all in debate as to who won.
All of this started to set the stage
For twenty-first century and computer age
When World Wars were finally complete
And our enemy Germany we did defeat.
We have lots of looters and saboteurs
That all of us now must have to endure
While we in America have much compassion
Middle East has been home for any assassin.
How much longer must this have to go one
Until whole world is wiped out and then done
Some say right it truly may be hard to tell
So what we should is sit for a short spell.
James Thomas Horn, Retired Veteran
Wasn't that the name of a rock band?
Or perhaps something from Star Trek?
The world was not created in 7 days
However, after Adam and Eve ate the deadly
apple the world changed
The metaphor is excellent - The Bible is a poetry book
The light from the past still has relevance
Even if we are now in the computer age
The old verities still have power
The world exists
So do we
You can scoff at existence
Find it a kind of cosmic joke
But it has been said before
Readers - This is not our fate
Made quite an impression, it seems
On the chair I've been glued to so long
The indentation is an exact replica
Of my rear, hmmm, sounds like a song
Me bum and me chair are going steady
Have been since joining P-Soup
Methinks maybe atrophy is setting in
So I think I'll shoot some hoops
It's surely a result of this computer age
Our bodies will soon have no use
Our heads will be the size of basketballs
But our bodies will be an excuse
Excuse to hold up our 100 pound heads
With it's 250 gigabyte storage space
We'll actually need some kind of device
Or we'll continue to fall on our face
Made quite an impression, it surely seems
On the chair I've been glued to so long
Thinks I'll go for a ride in my old jalopy
An old Dodge I bought for a song
© Jack Ellison 2013
“Made you look you dirty crook!”
And all those colourful phrases
Have vanished from our lexicon
They now belong to the ages!
“Keep your nose to the grindstone!”
Is another from way back when
So sad they've all but disappeared
Wish they'd come back again!
Since the dawn of the computer age
We speak in a different fashion
Conversing in very short sentences
Use acronyms without any passion!
We seem to have totally lost the ability
To have an intelligent conversation
Emailing, texting, talking on Facebook
A computer age generation!
I really long for those simpler days
When people took time to listen
All the world seemed friendlier then
Now feels like something's missing!
© Jack Ellison 2012
“Made you look you dirty crook!”
And all those colourful phrases
Have vanished from our lexicon
They now belong to the ages!
“Keep your nose to the grindstone!”
Is another from way back when
So sad they've all but disappeared
Wish they could go back again!
Since the dawn of the computer age
We speak in a different fashion
Conversing in very short sentences
Using acronyms without much passion!
We now seem to have lost the ability
To have an intelligent conversation
Emailing, texting, or some such device
Or some other glitzy presentation!
I really long for those simpler days
When people took time to listen
And all the world seemed friendlier
Now feels like something's missing!
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