Poem
Chased too far from the garden
welcome to the neon town
veiny streets where blood clots harden
progress won’t be broken down
the waters churning plastic
cities breathe with iron lungs
meta’s the new monastic
chanting maledictions in tongues
hand held distractions
ping, vibrate and light
human interactions
made on gigabyte
the poppy seeds
that grow in pockets
basic human needs
locked up in virtual lockets
anxiety barks one awake
as a neighbours dog
the bodies mistake
switches on, internal dialogue
have we evolved for modern life
or, fallen into it?
balancing on the edge of a knife
trying to make odd pieces fit
sick and tired of being sick and tired
bruised from the daily beating
neuron’s fired through brains, miswired
society won’t stop eating
in this fabled land
the milk has soured
with sticky hands
the honeys been devoured
white lilies, and white lies
the cortège shuffles in silence
beneath falling skies
angst arrows, kiss with violence
a brave face - a smeared red cheek
moving forth, even when we fear it
the origin physique;
a naked spirit.
© Darius the Mate 21-02-2022
Written for Shay’s Word Garden.
nicecissist 
You make some sharp observations, Darius, and ask an excellent question: “have we evolved for modern life
or, fallen into it?”
I also love these lines:
“welcome to the neon town
veiny streets where blood clots harden
progress won’t be broken down”
“anxiety barks one awake
as a neighbours dog”
Wonderful work 🙂
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Thank you again, so much ❤️
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“veiny streets where blood clots harden” – great line. The word list is organic and inexorable in your cortege of the damned. Nice job.
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Thank you, it’s much appreciated, qbit.
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Every day there will be in our changing world more and more things we will never understand. I use the simple sounding principal involving the knife, “balancing on the edge of a knife
trying to make odd pieces fit,” to divide food into two parts, like cookies or Kolaches. I am into electronics and radio, yesterday I ran into a writing of a Picasso receiver that could receive, and transmit also if wanted, up to four slices. That was all new ahead of my learning. I don’t know how to make one or even use it but I do understand what all it can do now.
..
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Progress never stops! We certainly can’t outrun it. Thank you for the comment, Jim.
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Was there ever a garden? An amazing write, thought provoking in the best kind of way (it demands energy.)
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Thank you, Helen. Perhaps the “garden”, in the biblical sense, came from stories of food in abundance and variety, before the rise of agriculture, and our heavy diet of cereals.
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I like your central concept and title line, thoroughly original (if you will.) Phones have eaten us, and the modern world spins ahead with us tied to the rear bumper, expected to run.
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Dragged kicking and screaming. Thank you, Shay.
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This has an incredibly powerful progression, from a very calm if bleak opening–I love “..meta’s the new monastic..”–to an almost frenzied, Dionysian conclusion where angst is sharp as arrows, and kisses are just another form of violence.Your metaphors work extremely well to push the narrative forward– the barking anxiety, ‘white lilies and white lies..” and of course those last two killer lines. I think the question of whether we’ve evolved into what we have become, or have simply fallen like Lucifer into the flames is one we can all appreciate. An excellent piece, Darius. So glad you could share it with us at Word Garden this week.
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Evolved to trust our instincts, we find ourselves falling ever more foul of an algorithmic ecosystem of technology growing wildly in sophistication. I truly believe we haven’t caught up from the portal of progress that propelled us here, naked and frightened.
Thank you, Hedgewitch.
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