THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
Group Poem Exercise VIII
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil,
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil,
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave it lair?
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave it lair?
Ars longa, vita brevis
That's 36 lines so far. I originally had a 40-line total in mind, but I'd like to extend it to 44 – enough to allow an upbeat conclusion.
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore;
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore;
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Ars longa, vita brevis
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves,
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves,
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves.
Our World, in truth, is but a paltry Stage
Upon which we await the coming Age.
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who pass learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves.
Our World, in truth, is but a paltry Stage
Upon which we await the coming Age.
Ars longa, vita brevis
I have taken the liberty of changing one word in line 15 to improve the scansion.
So the final version is as follows:
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who succeed learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves.
Our World, in truth, is but a paltry Stage
Upon which we await the coming Age.
A highly satisfactory Georgian pastiche (I am referring to the kings, not the state or the country). See you all in due course for Group Poem IX.
So the final version is as follows:
THE MODERN AGE
As sweet-faced Progress briskly wields her wand,
And conjures new Ideas from realms beyond,
I oft consider how the changes wrought
Will serve our Ilk for Good or Ill or Aught.
Efficient finance, and increasing speed,
Beget not Happiness but gloating Greed,
And surgeons now perform a heart repair
With probes inserted through the derriere.
The teeming Masses, having learned to write,
Spew electronic Piffle day and night.
The Mother Tongue, as far as I can tell,
Is strewn with useless garbage (LOL).
Our Schools, by bald Statistics now assess'd,
Disparage Wisdom, and exalt the Test.
Those who succeed learn Competence and Skill
The losers join the army and are Killed,
Which proves the truth of Natural Selection
(A concept still beset by wide rejection).
What cursed rage for conquest, pale Ramon,
Compels us toward perfection’s distant throne?
Your Marxist Tyrant murders for a Cause
And basks in Western Radicals' applause,
While Nations like our own will pay no Heed
When Criminals like these have what we Need.
The Cinematograph and Discotheque
Bring Frenzy, Arrogance and social Wreck,
And all the Internet seems to produce
Are pornographic Films with bad Tattoos.
Composers shun the glorious Baroque;
Eschewing Harmony, they strive for Shock.
Our literature is digital. The “Book”
Has been replaced by Kindles and the Nook.
While millions die from Hunger, Plague and Toil,
The Rich complain about the price of Oil.
Is this, our modern age, the widening gyre?
Has that rough beast begun to leave its lair?
Ah! let it not be said that I ignore
The Diminution of the Ills of yore.
All ages have Ignominy and Good.
In Caesar’s time, Christ perished on the Rood.
Renaissance Popes were venal, ruthless Knaves,
Witches were burned, and Gentlemen owned Slaves.
Our World, in truth, is but a paltry Stage
Upon which we await the coming Age.
A highly satisfactory Georgian pastiche (I am referring to the kings, not the state or the country). See you all in due course for Group Poem IX.
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