Friday 15 March 2024

SHARDS OF MODERNITY

 


SHARDS OF MODERNITY

 

Unnoted birdsong.

Busy Bluetooth news,

About a tempting selection,

Of AI odalisques,

Tweaked to pert perfection.

 

Hand-held computer on a silent scooter,

Zero foot-steps, slow heart-rate histogram,

Going forward (as they say), yet backwards,

To silicone curves of simian delight, 

And the kill du jour of an ancient campsite.


Speed-dialed speed dates,

Over paper-cup coffee,

Five-minute film trailers,

Starring life-shopping drifters, 

rescue-dog hopefuls, and back-alley grifters.

 

Back-packed babies,

On shopping-mall mothers,

Hands-free foraging for funderwear,

And supply-chain fruit in season everywhere,

Reaped by some ethically cleansed fellah.

 

Ersatz ciggie smokers,

Botoxed Batman Jokers,

Modern Picts with Anime faces,

Androids lurking in liminal places,

As alarm bells warn of a virtual storm.


Cordless without separation anxiety,

Cashless yet rich. Dead still performing:

Remastered leftovers in the digital fridge,

Chanting PIN, AMA, FOMO ... SIM, RAM, YOLO,

While House Sparrows wait on death row.

 

 

John Walter Taylor

© All rights reserved

Ides of March 2024


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