John Henry, by Janclae.

A very interesting poem, which is signed with that icon that shows a relationship beetwen the cross and the hippie peace sign:


Wires like vines are growing over the sleepy cubicle villages.
IT are modern gardners/
They clip the hedges now with network adapters,
Routing the xylem electron feed,
Phlo 'em thoughts shipped to Mexico & Thailand.
Delivering specifications, a new species.
To be hammered & prodded by metal arms,
Modeled after John Henry's prototype.

We're in dependence mode.
Just look at the prayers that bolster factory equipment.
What if's and slowdowns.
The devastation during a power outage.

Union cheerleading.
A helpful paper mache mentality.
As they concede benefits,
To realization, when they ponder,
Whom do I benefit?

Above all, hard work taught me how to enjoy
Silence, sighing, and lemonade.
The moments when I think the work is done,
God works to repair my ache.

The machines could not teach this;
but they impress me nevertheless.

If I cannot treat the machine as a separate being,
if I cannot learn to be a machine,
then I cannot truly appreciate its work.

I could thank he that made the machine.

Machines to sense all the energies
arriving from all directions
Analyzing the unconscious,
Delivering data to decipher.
What does it mean?

It means that anyone unwilling to race the calculator
Cannot appreciate numbers.
It means that anyone unwilling to smell the air
when the barometer says rain,
Cannot weather the storm.

It means that any imprint of "perfection" machine makers receive
becomes a model to reproduce and outcompete
the people;
In whose competition,
there rose perfection.

It means they want to create a new standard
Walls built around our newborns.
Making it easier to tell when they'll cry.
Easier to comfort.
"Resistence is futile."

Eternal vigilence, the antidote.

The walls we build everyday by convenience.
Built over our basic needs.
Built trying to contain existence.

But Nature rebels when we think
we could find contentment inside a pod.