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Sunday, January 23, 2011

PRYING EYES


Poetry Potluck

One Shot Wednesday






And so we RUN
From each traffic and store surveillance lens
Far from every camera phone
Aimed like an accusation

RUN to this place that the hand
Of man has not despoiled--
Where the battle cry of
PUT UP A PARKING LOT
Is still just an echo in the distance

No one sees but us
And the wise old owl
Who won't tell
And the canny coyote
Who won't yell
And the man in the moon
Who has nothing to say
And won't betray

And still we wonder how it went
From this vague sense of being watched
To the everyday certainty of it
As the band plays: The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You
And time marches on

Away from prying eyes
You open your thighs
And the wind sighs

The stars bear witness
Though they are light years away
Streaming from a yesterday that still shines
But only in our minds

31 comments:

  1. Hey Tim :) Happy Friday!
    I hate those traffic cameras! The other day I was zipping down the street, talking on the phone with my dog in my lap...LOL Flash! I'm hoping it didn't actually catch me....I think that might be an expensive one...LOL
    Big Brother watching...scary.

    Wishing you a very Happy and Fun Weekend from Swaziland :))))
    Hugs :)
    Kelly

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  2. KELLY,
    Yeah, they'll get you for not having your dog in a child safety seat!

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  3. What's sad to me is that we've become a society that seems to need these devices. I can't blame a store for wanting to catch shoplifters, or a traffic cam from wanting to watch for traffic troubles, or a family from wanting to see if their babysitter is beating their kid. Too bad they can also be used for nefarious reasons.

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  4. LIMDA,
    You're right--it's a reflection of what we've become, and a double-edged sword.

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  5. Truly, this is what we have become...

    I never knew I would be this way.....well, it started when i shifted to this Metro city from a very calm city down south in Kerala...and then I came to know that this city (New Delhi) gave my much to write about...like the other side of the place I belong to...By that time the IT/satellite communications too unleashed....and was keen to see how ordinary life was changing...

    I started blogging and came to know, its a fine replica of this city...

    Now I feel I want to go back...enough of seeing...enough of saying/writing...But then, I enjoy the creativity here so much :)

    On the issue of our lives being recorded elsewhere..by others/the state -- they have started talks of biometric id cards here too --Is it going to be over and above the survellience of God --

    so much I talked despite saying enough of talking...but then when interesting topics are discussed how can one hold back, Tim?


    Good, was a good one Tim :)

    wishes,
    devika

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  6. Sounds like a police state to me!

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  7. The reality we now live in...Wow you know how to bring it out very effectively, very nicely done Timoteo :)

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  8. DEVIKA,
    Maybe we need to just go to those unspoiled places and no longer interact with society...want to start a commune?

    KOBICO,
    Yes, but the police have gotten lazy. A patrolman sits in his vehicle alongside the highway (probably sleeping) with his electronic "photo enforcement" equipment turned on that will automatically take a picture of anyone's
    license plate if they're going above a certain speed--and then they send you an expensive speeding ticket in the mail! Used to be you at least had a chance if you could out run them!

    LORRAINE,
    Wow, and I think about the camera being the thing that has brought out so much of your creativity...but just like most things, it can be used for good or bad. :)

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  9. ha! Tim, I have many things running in my head...But for the Lord in my home! :)

    To have him as Lord, obey is the only way...else he turns the Satan...and I can't seem to bear that :)

    wishes,
    devika

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  10. But then Tim, another thing far from society or closed up in my home...I feel i'll lose my energy to live...and life itself...

    so its all become usual sort of...except for the time I feel moody, and feel like running away...but then after a sleep life is back to 'normal' :)

    dev

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  11. This one makes me want to take my family and start a hippy commune in the Australian rainforest somewhere :)

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  12. No one sees but us
    And the wise old owl
    Who won't tell
    And the canny coyote
    Who won't yell
    And the man in the moon
    Who has nothing to say
    And won't betray..


    love every line, your words are very carefully chosen and woven.


    Glad to have you with us, what a delicious treat.

    A++

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  13. Like Leonard Cohen says, "everybody knows that the naked man and woman/are just a shining artifact of the past..." some might say this is agoraphobic or even paranoid, but I agree with your sentiments completely. the places to run are getting so small we have to find them inside ourselves.

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  14. I guess we're all TV stars now. In a strange way, it so much all at once that the mind reels when we start to think about it. Loved the way your poem captured the philosophical reality of being on camera 24 hours a day. Somewhere Michel Foucault smiles and Jeremy Bentham grabs a pen. lol. Thanks for the enjoyable read,

    crb.

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  15. Sad reality that we live in today. Well written.

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  16. I DIG, mucho mas. Happy potluck! http://lynnaima.wordpress.com/

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  17. freedom calls for the removal of gadgets and restrains that makes all of us berserk! i concur with you! here's my potluck for this week: http://fiveloaf.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/here-for-you/

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  18. Never... out of the 'Telescreen's' scan; ungood.

    Truthfully well said/written Timoteo!
    _m

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  19. Wah! But the poetess has turned me into a little critter! Fun!

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  20. Another awesome piece, Timoteo!

    "Aimed like an accusation" is perfection!

    (Nice Joni Mitchell reference too!)

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  21. No one sees but us
    And the wise old owl
    Who won't tell
    And the canny coyote
    Who won't yell
    And the man in the moon
    Who has nothing to say
    And won't betray..

    Such great words to describe the peace of the great outdoors. Thanks for sharing your wonderful spin on this week's prompt!

    My Potluck poem: Greenzilla's Top 5 Green Deeds

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  22. loving the rhythm...and know that deep longing to be far from all but the natural splendors of this beautiful planet...alone or with a beloved and no one else.

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  23. and what those eyes see will be up on youtube by tonight....or in someones facebook status...you know they can track where you log in at...scary.

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  24. A world watching our every move. Damn scary. Then here I am dreaming of a world finding a balance between the old and the new- nature and technology. I do know that if or when all hell breaks loose I have the capacity to try my damnest to live with the earth. That sounds so negative and not like me but the realist and historian in me can not help but prepare...

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  25. Hi Timoteo. I like it, but I think the first stanza could stand alone - it's so fantastically self contained.

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  26. Fantastic!! We crave to be left alone...and yet, when we are, we complain that nobody cares!! We are really funny people.. I mean the human race, in general! :)

    An awesome poem, Tim!!!
    "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" -- has kinda given me the creeps at times... it's like a candid camera... silently laughing at you when you goof up... I only hope it also means that it comes to your aid when required! whheewww...

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  27. I agree that it is sad that it's sad that we have come to a point where there is a need for surveillance cameras. But I have to admit that, when visiting London, where there are far more than I've seen here, I found them a comfort.

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  28. Nothing like going to the bush for some comfort.

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  29. Your poem brought home the evocative and very intense message of Spielberg's film the Minority Report the central theme is the question of free will vs. determinism. And includes the role of preventative government in protecting its citizenry, the role of media in a future state where electronic advancements make its presence nearly boundless, the potential legality of an infallible prosecutor, Your poem states where is there 'freedom from the ever present watchful eye of the state" or is there any place left to roam like the buffalo it is becoming extinct.
    joanny

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  30. Some great, offbeat lines in this. Exemplary.

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  31. Oh my, I do hate those cameras. Excellent write about. Good for you. Perfect for Potluck.

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