We’ve moved into June, and I need a poetry style that starts with the letter F. I’ve decided to write Free verse Poems. Writing Free Verse Poems for an entire month frightens me because they lack meter, rhythm, and form. Sometimes a person needs these guidelines to keep them honest. What makes a poem a poem if there is no way to define it as a poem? The only way to start the party is to run my finger over the keys and see what pops up on the computer screen. I will call this poem The Hand of the Machine.
First, let’s explore the characteristics of Free Verse Poetry and The Hand of the Machine
- Candace and flow
- The built on the language of the poet
- Non-uniform lines and stanzas
- Experience with space
- Prosaic Qualities
- Concise Imagery
It appears free verse isn’t as rudderless as I first thought. My poetry writing challenge in June could get exciting. It’s time to read The Hand of the Machine.
The Hand of the Machine Pages of the history books are filled With the exploitation of labor To secure maximum profit Without counting the human cost. Extermination of people in the path of progress To increase the bottom line Put them in the red. What will happen when they don’t need us anymore? Will they starve us out? Will they create a new disease? Will they lock us outside to freeze? When they make robot soldiers for their bloody war Or construction workers, truck drivers, waitresses, Secretaries, cashiers, doctors, nurses, The lady at the grocery store When artificial intelligence writes the books. Paint the pictures. Makes the music. And the human body isn’t needed For sexual pleasure anymore. When they have reduced the surplus population And made it appear like a benevolent act of charity Will they find themselves alone With the cold, calculating Hand of the machine.
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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I guess they would replace everything with machines if it created profit. It’s an interesting world in late stage capitalism.