An Invisible Machine
There is an invisible machine
Relentlessly churning around the world.
Into its maw goes forests, lakes
And whole oceans.
Out of its rear
It excretes plastic trinkets
And control.
Its gears drip with blood and sap.
Sitting astride this behemoth,
This slow-motion holocaust,
The gleeful sneering drivers spray champagne down upon us.
In its wake the controlled
Buy trinkets and are distracted
By the addictive effluent
As they desperately strive to climb on board.
Their dream
Is that they too might live to spray champagne.
When its job is done
And all the wonders have been transformed to junk
It will consume itself.
Opher 18.9.2016
An Invisible Machine
I wrote this poem on the way back from a Roy Harper gig in Scotland. We discussed the environmental damage being wreaked upon the world by the selfish, greedy minority who control the capitalist machine that is destroying the planet.
Five billion people live in poverty and despair while a few hundred thousand squander everything in a senseless orgy of extravagance.
The forests, lakes and seas are being consumed. The chimps, elephants and rhinos machine-gunned.
I suggested Roy wrote an epic song on this subject. He told me that he was writing one about what goes on in people’s minds. That is where the madness is conceived!
As we are distracted with booze, sex and TV, religion, psuedodemocracy and talent shows, tribute bands, muzac and nostalgia, fashion, glamour and celebrity, the real world is being ripped apart before our very eyes!!!