The Monsters are Real

Okay - today's Tuesday Poem on a Wednesday is "The Monsters are Real"
I'm hoping to post some motivational "poetry" soon - so look out for that. :)

The Monsters are Real

What do you do when the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under the bed?

What do you do when the monsters reveal
that they like to play with your head.

It's zeroes and ones
until it becomes
a dance with truth
and deceit.
Tell me, what will you do when faceless suits
dance to their puppeteer's drum?

So what do you do when the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under you bed?

And what do you do when with murderous glee
the monsters complain of civility?

"Oh oysters, pitiful wretches,
come and walk with me
the day is - oh, so hot
and my tears are wet, as wet could be."

Tell me, what will you do now the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under your bed?

Now the gaslight is on
And the bedroom's not safe
Can you see that the monsters are real?
Their words are fair, and their acts are foul,
with tongues are as divided
as the rage they can't keep in their heads.

Will you believe what they say?
Will you believe what we say?
Will you believe it today?
Will the propaganda mess with your head?

Come, will you become a faceless suit -
and dance to their puppeteer's drum?
 
What do you do when the monsters are real -
and the monsters come for your head? 

A.J. Ponder

 A.J. Ponder is the author of Quest - to find out more about Quest, follow this link to Quest on my author website.


 

A New World, Today

We could home the homeless
End poverty
Tomorrow

If only we wanted

We could create a new world
Based on facts
And reason

If we followed the evidence

We could save ourselves heartbreak
Misery and sorrow,
Even death

And not be any poorer

We could do all this and create a better
A fairer world
For everyone 

No more ifs

We are way past dreaming
It's time for action
Today

A.J. Ponder

See links below to understand just how expensive austerity is, and why we need to change the paradigm we've been conned into believing.

Have a great week

A.J. Ponder

Housing homeless cheaper, more effective than status quo: study

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/housing-homeless-cheaper-more-effective-than-status-quo-study/article4563718/

Six Examples of the Long-Term Benefits of Anti-Poverty Programs

(https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/05/11/six-examples-long-term-benefits-anti-poverty-programs)

Early Childhood Education for All A Wise Investment

(http://web.mit.edu/workplacecenter/docs/Full%20Report.pdf)

And a few more UBI talks (Universal Basic Income) 

Ted Talk: Poverty Is not a Lack of Character, it's a Lack of Cash

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIL_Y9g7Tg0)

 Basic Income and other ways to fix capitalism 

(https://youtu.be/A2aBKnr3Ep4) - Let's look at the data - and stop following corporate narrative - or as the presenter says, "fairytales" - and dangerous ones, because they're actually twisting reality, rather than reflecting it.

Why everyone should have a basic income | Guy Standing

(https://youtu.be/NNHAgXy5dxQ)

Hey Neil DeGrasse Tyson, There's No Need to Welcome Science

Hey Neil,
just FYI
nobody need welcome science into their lives,
it's not a religion.
Like it or not
gravity doesn't care one jot

as it pulls you down.

And BTW
evolution
doesn't need your belief
or mine.
The intricacies of Darwin's theory
are more robust today than ever,
and for that
let us thank a 19th Century monk,
Watson and Crick
and a whole bunch of people
who asked questions--
even those who didn't like the answers.


For in science
belief is the antithesis,

Add caption

it is never called for.
A spectre of bias that
raises it's ugly head
at every turn.
Were this world indeed supernatural,
I'd call on you to cast your belief
into the flame,
sprinkle it with holy water,
and salt the ground.

But we live in observable
measurable
reality.
So put away your belief,
and wield the true power of science -
skepticism,
curiosity,
and wonder.

A.J. Ponder

Hi people,
I hope you enjoy your poem fix :) This one is for science, but also cautionary, because although science is amazing, and has changed the face of the earth in ways nobody could ever imagine, we can't demand belief. Because belief is antithetical to discovering the truth.

Articles like this are misleading, making science look like a religion. That's not a role science should ever fulfill. I never want people to "believe in science," or "welcome science." Science is science, it's about finding the world and how it works fascinating. It's about setting up hypotheses and knocking them down. Mostly about knocking them down! That's the fun bit. There is no "too big to fail" in science. Many huge discoveries have been made by comparative unknowns, who followed the evidence and not what they wanted to be true. Mendel, the guy who basically discovered genetics, Joseph Lister, the guy who discovered hand-washing before an operation was a good idea (despite much opposition at the time). If something seems wrong, question it, and be ready to be wrong yourself, because when science becomes a belief system it is no longer science. The themes in this poem also link to the "Reason" by John Pomfret poem I put up last week, written in the 1700's :)

The article: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/24/neil-degrasse-tyson-national-geographic-channel-startalk

For more contemporary poetry, why not check out the Tuesday Poem blog tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com

Have a great week,
A.J.