I have fallen down the hole
The deep, deep rabbit hole
But I’m good.
They cannot touch my soul.
Right?
It’s the timesuck though
That’s so whack
Want the everyday rush
Dopamine’s now the smack.
I’m a YouTube baby
That’s my drug of choice
It’s calling out to me
In its addictive voice
It serves up all my faves
Progressive pundits
With a side of comedy
Vlogging travelers
And stock advisors
Dumpster divers
New age gardeners
Cleaning motivation
All wholesome information.
But it’s in the comments
You find the haters
The fake news baiters
And the deep staters
That live under the surface
And become the troll invaders
Engaging your attention
From moment to moment
Because the ugly is as captivating
As ambulance chasing
And the brain is fascinated
Asking how did they get here?
To conspiracy consumers
Both gen-Z and boomers
Radicalized by their own AI’s
Intent on keeping you swiping,
Tagging and typing
To sell you something.
You got caught in the time suck
Now you’re just the product
Embedded in the matrix
Being manipulated
Pupils dilated
But glad to check your messages
To heed notifications
To seek gratification
Before your morning pee
Or as u eat breakfast.
Remember those early days
When you first met her?
Your AI was gentle
You felt a connection
You did not know
She was going to devour
Your mind and your power
And just leave you breathless
Begging the next fix
Whether Facebook or Netflix.
But she’s pimped by the masters
These Capitalist tricksters
Buying up our data.
They pay for the swords
These addiction algorithms
That slaughter the hordes.
It’s the tech plutocracy
Ravaging our democracy
With our cooperation
Hashtag #TowerofBabel
Serving free non-speech
And confusing the masses
In the disunited states
of forsaken America.
Now it’s red states and blue states
Sodom vs. Gomorrah
In apocalyptic battle
Unable to function
The fall of the empire.
Bitch, it’s an old, old story
And you’re the canary.
Frankenstein’s monster
Is alive with no conscience
Here to rip up the minds
Of our preteen daughters.
To divide and conquer
The nation’s voters
For the almighty dollar.
Dude, you’ve been had.
But you’re not so innocent.
Wake up and gasp.
Check your passions.
Survey your surroundings.
In this online universe
Bad news travels faster
Did u make them your master?
Those kids you can’t handle
Because your multiple screens
Got you hungover
Did you just hand them over?
Is this click-bait snake
Now minding the cradle?
Did you give the thief
The keys to your mansion?
Did u sell yourself
To the greatest hater?
The clouds have grown darker
The stars have now fallen
Conflate wisdom with lies
And it’s the end of times.
Humankind has been duped
By the platforms that mined it.
Evil was there but
Tech creations magnified it
Once the dog wagged it’s tail
Now IT’S being wagged
By the tail that’s behind it.
The world has gone crazy
The conspiracy theories
are the ties that bind it.
There’s no greater oppression
Than to seek after truth
And not know where to find it.
So. No. My soul is unaffected
I’m simply drowning in anxiety
A deep fog makes things hazy
I feel I’m going crazy
I flee the screens
to commune with nature
Take refuge in flowers
Watch clouds for hours
Maybe they can rescue
My burning eyes.
My north is still love
My core is still art
In all this transition
I have to be smart
Surf the new normal
And stay wide awake
Discover my hope
And reach for my faith
I simply will not
Be led astray.
What’s in our tool kit
To fight this battle?
Light-speed knowledge multiplication
The ocean depths of a new Revelation
The now unsealed books
The spheres of unification
The one new language
The community building
The global brain coalescing
With the universal heart beating
The human gene bringing
Not just belief in myth
But the unity of vision
Artificial Intelligence:
The edge of a cliff
Or the liftoff of humanity?
If civilization must
Forever evolve
What’s the need of this age?
What is required
For us to stay sane?
What are the principles
That make us humane?
If this is our challenge
Then what’s there to gain?
That is the question
And this is the plane.
Rhea Harmsen
Copyright 2020
Rhea Harmsen 