For Sanaa's prompt on Imaginary Garden With Real Toads --inspired by Pink's "Hurts 2B Human"It's getting harder
to be human
when to leave my comment
on your poem
I must prove
I'm not a robot
No easy feat
these days
when it's come down to
a set of rules
a set of laws
not divine laws
(and not your in-laws)
but decrees laid down
by mortals
often with dubious aims
and dark agendas
but by god now they're set in stone
and we will follow them
to the letter
as we chant
Send them back!
Send them back!
Just like what you want me
to prove that I'm not
and though it walks
and talks
and seems almost like a person
the human element
(unfortunately)
could not be programmed in
so before you check
that little box
look deep inside your heart
take a moment
and ask yourself...
Where is the proof
that I'm not a robot?
OMG, I so hear you! I am so frustrated by how difficult it is to leave a comment on some sites.........I have to try three and four times, every combination of log-ins, gah! I love the sites like yours that know me. But even some sites I have commented on for years now dont recognize me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you've changed your hair and that's why they don't recognize you? Seriously, though, I always look forward to hearing from you!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly potent!❤️ I resonate with the ridiculous amount of boxes or captcha to check online just to prove we are not robots. You capture the feeling of exasperation so well and I love, love the song you chose. "Like we're walking down a road of broken glass/Now if we defeat all odds/And it was us against the world." Thank you so much for writing to the prompt.❤️
ReplyDeleteWell, you inspired me with all your great song choices! The poem works on two levels. You can look at it literally and may interpret that it's about all the captcha, etc, but it's also a metaphor for who we are as human beings and who we are as a society, especially here in the U.S.--I guess it's a political message, but I might have been a little to subtle in getting that across! Love, T.
DeleteAh yes, I see that now upon the second reading! There are many dimensions to your poem and it is something that I really like and admire ❤️
DeleteThe 'Send them back! / Send them back!' clued me in.
DeleteI just love that close! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! We do so many things automatically, sometimes without really thinking about them.
DeleteAn unbelievably huge grin on my mug right now. No, I am not a robot (well, that's up for debate.)
ReplyDeleteWe all must ask these questions of ourselves from time to time!
DeleteGotcha fo sho on this one Tim. It makes the joy of reading and commenting on some blogs insanely complicated these days — though I keep at it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We persevere.
Deleteoh... this is good. Do we think for ourselves? Very clever.
ReplyDeleteOne question that's been bothering me, Margaret...do robots know how to do The Robot?
Delete... yes, they do. :)
DeleteThat's indeed a question. I guess many are just robots from whatever is happening all around...
ReplyDeleteRight. But their skin feels so REAL! :)
DeleteSome days, I’m not sure what I am! But today, I’m Vivian and I agree with your sentiments.
ReplyDeleteToday is all that matters!
DeleteI really enjoyed this, and you ask a haunting question.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is Halloween!
Delete>>> ? <<<
ReplyDeleteScreenagers walk; their cell phones edit each thought; which foot next?
"Screenagers"...love that term. So appropriate. Season's greetings to you!
DeleteLove this, Tim. Happy anonymous Halloween! Good to see you here again.
ReplyDeleteGood to be here!
DeleteRoadblocks help to make one question the worth of the effort; frustrating for the assumption of wrongness on the part of the person.
ReplyDeleteThere is no more presumption of innocence. We must prove ourselves (pee in the cup) at every turn. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteEveryday frustration. Made me smile. ��
ReplyDeleteThat's always gratifying to here!
DeleteI'm not into proving, I'm not a robot...lol...on some sites I am unable to post for whatever reason. It is indeed frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteIt's all too scary and sci fi except it's really happening and we are being taken over.Big Brother is watching every move we make and in particular His supreme Highness Taker Over Of The World Lord Google.I saw a programme last night about a societal misfit who has not lived with walls running water gas or electricity for 41 years.It seems less grim and far more appealing than it would have in the past.Of course the authorities are trying to corrall him by forcing him out of the bush and trying to make him live in a town.Free spirits are under serious attack so mind you take care Tim. Keep your bow and arrow and a big stick at the ready:)
ReplyDeleteCrazy, isn't it? This compulsion to put everyone in a "little box." "Less grim than it would have been in the past." That's the key phrase. Everything's a trade-off. We give up something on the one hand and gain something on the other. As far as robots go, many of us are programmed by public opinion and all the false and misleading crap that circulates on social media. And if one is "programmed" in such a way, he is indeed a type of robot. The key lines in my poem were "send them back!/send them back!" It refers to the robotic chant we hear directed at refugees in this country. So there's a dual meaning here. Always appreciate your insightful comments.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think we are ... more and more.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you, Rosemary!
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