|
Smiley Faces
by V. Blakealthough ignorance and stupidity
drink from separate water fountains,
it's all the same stuff in the pipes.
it didn't used to be this way. it used to be better.
long before we genetically altered the truth,
and poisoned the wells with commercially viable,
buy-one-get-one-free, backhanded pseudo-science;
or before we discovered these to be aphrodisiacs,
and began marketing agnosticism
as a condom for martyrs.
just look at what we've become:
scratched out items on the devil's grocery list.
spilled milk on freshly-bleached Wal-Mart tiles,
an intercom click away from cleanup on aisle five.
and it's all we can do to keep lying here,
waiting to be slipped on,
mopped up,
sold at a discount,
or forgotten.
and smiling. 01/04/2010 Posted on 01/05/2010
Copyright © 2024 V. Blake
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 01/05/10 at 02:47 AM you are/this is a m a z i n g
I bow. |
| Posted by Olivia Martin on 01/05/10 at 01:10 PM I absolutely LOVE this piece! The images are absolutely astounding, and though I had hoped to pick some of my favorites to comment on, there were too many, as each stanza provides another brilliant contemplation. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, I am disheartened at the sentiment -- one of those "sad but true" moments that I don't often experience. Wonderful, wonderful write; thank you for making me think ;) |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 01/05/10 at 04:23 PM You make some good thrusts with the dagger of your gift at the superficiality of a good part of our culture. You see beneath and then write it so we too can penetrate the stupidity. Thanks for this clever and prescient poem, Vince. |
| Posted by Alison McKenzie on 01/05/10 at 05:13 PM "Genetically altered the truth"....that is the BEST phrase I've ever heard, EVER. |
| Posted by Michael Smith on 01/06/10 at 03:27 AM Damn, Son. You've been on a roll lately and I'm so glad to have been introduced to your work. This is brilliant, Mate.
|
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 01/06/10 at 04:33 PM I'm especially laughing through my tears at stanza 3 and the stupid smiles on all of our faces. Well crafted - clever, and I 'resemble' S4, I do!! |
| Posted by Therese Elaine on 01/06/10 at 06:01 PM Obviously you know I think this kicks arse...the fact that you manage to work in metaphoric slurs against big-box retailer-who-shall-not-be-named makes me grin like a shark over my morning coffee...wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 01/06/10 at 07:23 PM Good call here, Vince. Consumerism turns us all into junkies. Thanks. |
| Posted by Tony Whitaker on 01/07/10 at 04:16 AM Brillinat use of metaphors and similes in telling a story that captures this reader at "ignorance and stupidity" are different... |
| Posted by Steven Kenworthy on 01/11/10 at 04:16 AM & God bless America to that. :D |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 01/22/12 at 05:12 PM Great to see this as POTD! |
| Posted by Laura Doom on 01/22/12 at 06:29 PM Don't know why this place wasn't on my list of stuff-to-consume before, but I'm sold on this...
[placeholder for authentic emoticonditioned smile] |
| Posted by Jody Pratt on 01/23/12 at 02:21 AM I can really appreciate the depths of meaning in some of these lines and the poem as a whole. I just wish there wasn't so much truth in this poem (not to say I'd have you change the poem, just the world if you could.)
|
|
