This week I am responding to a prompt in a news article asking -Are you feeling swamped right now?
That was all I needed to set my writing mind into furious action. Sometimes a simple question can set the mind alight. I'll let you, dear reader determine how I feel...
I would classify the resultant poem -A Rant poem, and a long one at that. I have written Rant poems previously. They provide a wonderful outlet for strong emotions and unsettling feelings. Anyway, sit yourself down, strap in -here is my Rant poem.
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The News of the Day- Chronicles of Chaos
The news
And the views on the news
Are let loose
In torrents
Cascading into the conscious mind
The digital tsunami comes flooding
Endlessly dumping headlines
With updates layered thickly
Delivered by device and design
Sensory overload and mind-boggling exhaustion
Have another helping of despair and dross
And while you're here, juggle this- and this
And have a dash of this as well.
It’s so hard to manage, THIS!
It’s not merely the daily grind
-Whatever yours looks like
It’s all the other stuff heaped on top of that
And on top of that again
Click bait and conspiracy
Influencers spreading like influenza
Follow me, like me, buy my dream
Validate me
Bots and trolls emerge from holes
Dripping hate and bile
All this doom scrolling leaves the reader overwhelmed
Dispirited and smashed
Headlines hit you like a fist
Wars and flareups, bombings and other atrocities
In towns and cities
The Middle east, Ukraine, Lebanon
Conflict rages on and on
The innocent carry the burden.
Media fatigue is the new normal
While an abnormal reality bounces around us
Look over here, now here
The relentless pace of geopolitics
Delivers a world disorganised, chaotic.
But understand this-
This dizzying pace of news is not merely by chance...
We are swamped by design
The zone flooded by methodical messaging
The media, an often-guileless conduit
And the cabaret of chaos commanded by autocrats
seek to move our attention to the next
ghastly instalment of their twisted visions.
And so, we endure our dizzy days
Spinning, not winning
Reeling and feeling swamped
As bewilderment grows.
-And in the distance, I hear a faint melody
And voices singing
-turn off your mind, relax and float downstream…
Alan j Wright
Oh yes, so much chaos and clickbait. I'm just disgusted by it. My tiny hope is that something new for news delivery will come from such a disaster as today's news outlets. I fear we as a human race are not going to survive this swamp by design. Good rant. I wish I saw a solution.
ReplyDeleteI too wish we had a solution on a global scale, but Linda, I think within us we have solutions, but we must be brave in implementing them. Quarrantining sanity and serenity might be the obvious starting point.
DeleteA spot-on rant indeed! Although I see signs of hope. I think more and more people are getting it and making their voices heard. But how I long to "-turn off MY mind, relax and float downstream…" Time to click off more.
ReplyDeleteSigns of hope are vital as we negotiate difficult situations. Consciously disconnecting occasionally is a healthy habit to cultivate. it serves to quieting the tumult and the shouting.
DeleteYes to all of this!!! There were so many lines that I was nodding and saying YEP. And a news article asking if you're feeling swamped? Wow! So it's not just me...
ReplyDeleteActions that avoid the swamping are a form of pushing back, Marcie. A form of resistance.
DeleteAlan, I totally get it! I am overwhelmed and wonder when we all will have normal lives again. Janice Scully
ReplyDeleteHold onto that desire for normalcy, Janice. That is our balm.
DeleteWow--those short lines really help with that overload. My favorite line: Influencers spreading like influenza Ha! So true!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura. Ranting felt good. Identifying more projects to consciously pursue that deliver genuine satisfaction is the goal.
DeleteMy mind is indeed "boggled", Alan, so I've been putting time limits on my tech, instead reading and doing some other work, like dusting while listening to music - : ) Thanks for reflecting/ranting for all of us. It was a "blast"!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. Time limits sound like a great action plan. I too listen to music when doing household chores.
DeleteYes and Yes and Yes! So hard to manage.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you agree, Rose. Management is once again the key to retaining some equilllibrium in our lives. I am going to consciously practice that this week and see what it delivers.
DeleteSo much chaos and clickbait and bots! I totally related this rant poem. I try really hard to not doomscroll on my phone. I look for little glimmers of hope.
ReplyDeleteLooking for glimmers of hope sounds like a most sensible action, Jone. Green shoots of sanity.
DeleteYour poem reminded me of something a friend said at lunch: "We all have ADHD now." Too much input, too much multitasking. Too much spinning! I find that doing things with my hands helps.
ReplyDeleteHand crafts are welcome distrraction, Tabatha. We need more of these types of pursuits as a response to the wave.
DeleteWow, Alan, such a great rant poem. I never heard that name before, but this is a powerful mentor to write a rant. So much good here, some of my favorite lines that really resonate with me: "cabaret of chaos commanded by autocrats" and "Have another helping of despair and dross." What will it take for us to not be controlled by the digital input?
ReplyDeleteThe answer lies within us, I think, Denise. We must refocus and redesign our attention- not an easy task given the current shape of modern life and its siren call to constantly respond.
DeleteA cleansing Rant poem is absolutely necessary sometimes and this one nails it, Alan. "Have another helping of despair and dross" — yes. It's all designed to keep us in a chaotic state.
ReplyDeleteWe have to turn away from it regularly to stay sane and seek genuine action.
Thanks, Alan.
Thank you, Karen. There is a sense of catharsis when writing a rant poem- as it should be. I like your call for action that directs us towards sanity. It gets my vote.
DeleteWhew! YES to all of your rant! Our poems this week are cousins, I guess. Yours is the one who blurts it all out, while mine picked one small bit of the news avalanche to tersely illuminate.
ReplyDeletePoetry cousins- I like that. You're right, Mary Lee, my poem is deifinitely a blurty piece, but I do appreciate your terse illumination. Rant season?
DeleteJama's Mary Oliver post on the prayer of listening; Mary Lee's post on outrage and microdosing; your rant on listening overload...This is not coincidence. Love a good long rant poem, Alan. Hope you're floating somewhere this morning.
ReplyDeleteThere's plenty of outrage to tap into, Patricia. We are all joined in our sense of uncertainty. The rant I had has cleared my mind, so I am approaching the new morning with a sense of greater balance. Balance is not the complete answer, but it avoids overload. I will focus on floating moving forward...
DeleteYes let’s, “-relax and float downstream…” So many truths and well said areas in your poem. It’s a tangle of terror out there, beware… Spot on poem, thanks Alan! ☺️
ReplyDeleteLike your use of 'tangle of terror,' Michelle. Thanks for your response and given your most ethical position on such matters, hardly surprising.
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