Pause Reality
Can I pause reality for just a moment? I lost the remote Can’t walk up to reality And do it manually Buttons faded long ago With the trees and empty spaces Praising humanity we advanced technology Paying a price beyond comprehension But much like terms and conditions We didn't read we simply said okay And gave our rights away I long to pause reality by looking At art and birds and forgotten people The things we no longer see that exist Only in the borders of our digital frames Phantoms from another time and place Abandoned by the promise of progress Where do our tears go When we smother our eyes with glass Where does our pain hide When we condemn it to second class Will you pause my reality? Or am I just a phantom From another time and place Living in the ghost town Of what is real
Today's poem started with a text message to a friend describing a poetry open mic I attended last week: "It felt good to do something different. To pause reality for three hours." At the open mic event, and later at a poetry workshop I attended over the weekend, the organizers reminded us of poetry being an oral tradition. Reading poems out loud is crucial because we don't hear them in the same way as when we write or even share in printed form.
It didn't take long for the poem to unfold in the notes app on my phone. I thought about the desire to just pause the challenges and struggles, but also the pace of technological advancement. I was satisfied with what I had typed into my phone, but I wrote it out by hand to refine the words. And then, with the reminder above, I started reading it aloud to see how it felt floating through the air of my office.
Feelings shifted and words solidified. I read it again and again.
Time to record.
And yet, another edit.
Until it is finally done.
Newsletter Notes:
The sonic soundtrack for editing and preparing today's poem is The Absolute Universe: The Breath of Life (Abridged Version) by Transatlantic. If you're curious, the band released three versions of the album at the same time, which is ambitious and awesome.
The Midjourney prompt for the artwork above: pause reality surrounded by chaos abstract surrealism --ar 16:9.
I set "Pause Reality" in the graphic above in Subway NewYork Std.