Metaverse
I was called popular
On social media
A banner once reserved
For inducers of hysteria
Not me, I thought
As I perused the feeds
“Surely that guy’s more popular than me!”
So I says to myself
Time to up the ante
Maybe right now I’ll be
Inflammatory
Ignite the right, placate the left
Show ‘em true colors
Have no regret
Garner reactions
Across the virtual spectrum
Play ‘em like an axe
With a virtual plectrum
But this can’t be real
To live in a screen
Everyone saying, “hey, look at me!”
Got to keep feeding the virtual beast
Algorithmic feasts for artificial needs
Of course the computer knows better than me
Having acquired the knowledge of all history
But to be popular, to have all the likes
“Aren’t you thinking about me, about my face and my life?”
No, not really, just going through motions
Floating through days on a binary ocean
Waiting for deliverance
To take me away
Remove my eyes from the meme of the day
“Look up there, what’s that phosphorescent globe”
Why that’s the sun, it comes and it goes
Unlike my smart phone
It’s always here
Affirming my life
So digital, so clear
A Federal Holiday”
They want the hate
Easier that way
To distract the plebs
While the oligarchs play
Civil rights matter
But not to the rich
Only profits and loss
Rights get dismissed
They control the resources we need to survive
Manufactured consent/ dissent
Riling zealots to thrive
Create a new world
Of the deafening voiceless
Birth a civil war
Without any choices
Funnel our greatness
Into zeros and ones
Bankrupt education
Reward us with guns
Can’t shoot the messengers
They’ve come and they’ve gone
Voigt, Musk & Stallone
Are the new Obi Wan
This is our home
Like it or not
The red, white and blue
The US of Kid Rock
Dare to be stupid
Create your own truth
“Go woke and go broke”
I feel bad for the youth
Winter is Here
Bundle up tight
Love your friends and neighbors
Noam Chomsky was right
Save your old books
Before they’re revised
To blind us from history
As the empire dies
New Year’s Revolution
Earth is on layaway
The crackling film of yesterdays
You said there’s still beauty in the moments
While asking for atonement
We end up in the same place
Consumed in life by saving face
Notice me, reward my gifts
The praise we seek
The ultimate grift
What would Jesus do?
Mend fences, rally the troops?
Foster love, die for sins?
Pretend we’re all like Gunga Din?
Or would he say “I’ve already done my good
Now go help each other
But knock on wood
Fight the power brokers who did me in
They’ll do you too, but there’s the chance you’ll win
I gave all I had, but you have more
You’re real, you see
I’m historical lore
I shudder to think that the ultimate sin
Is posing as a cool kid
With faux-royal kin
Insecure humanity
Masked by unrivaled vanity
There’s no art in posing
As the picture of “en vogue”
When the attention that you seek
Is wrapped up in ego
Nurtured from a journey up the ranks
You’re in Valhalla
With dirty spanks
The Gods they greet you
With wine and thunder
They love your song
But they’ll take you under
It’s what you wanted, to have arrived
Whether or not you’re dead inside
Now you’re theirs
And the world’s on fire
They know your name
But they’re only Towne Criers
Regurgitating your self-importance
With fiery tomes of your anointment
It’s ok, though - time still moves
Even Popes change course
And people choose
Their own adventures
In reality
‘How can I get on TV?’
‘Or get my picture in a magazine’
Love is the answer, or maybe the question
According to the growing market for
For erectile dysfunction
Happy New Year
Make this one count
You never know
When the power goes out