Seen and Unseen
Our facebook data is being sold off
Our facebook data is being sold off
to advertisers and worse, who use it
to discern our personal triggers
and pull them. Pow! Gotcha!
We know you’ll buy this
bag, book, training course….
Maybe. The real crims, though,
aren’t doing so well with me:
widow, clearly not young.
They offer me thickset men
in military uniforms, white-skinned,
hair just slightly greying, wholesome.
The sort you’d have taken home,
once, to meet your mother. Ha! I know
they are not truly the names or faces
they show. And anyway, I never fell
for the ones my parents approved –
doctors, lawyers, accountants, dentists….
I look like such a sweet old lady,
posting photos of roses, messages
of peace and joy; liking cats, and a green
environment. They don’t see how I’m drawn
to the shadow, the danger, the flame:
the unusual. The man in black.
Lean frame, long locks, dark skin.
Antlered Cernunnos in the wild wood.
Black-haired Merlin, of the Old Folk.
The scintillating fae, who dance all night
in a glade among trees, lit by the moon.
Oh facebook, you know nothing.
Written for Poets United's Midweek Motif ~ Vision, which quotes Jonathan Swift as saying, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”
Soundcloud recording added 21 June 2019.
Written for Poets United's Midweek Motif ~ Vision, which quotes Jonathan Swift as saying, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”
Soundcloud recording added 21 June 2019.
Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteHa....well if they got it wrong before they know now. So expect black hair'd Merlin of the old folk to come knocking any time soon:) There is no such as privacy. All of your emails and phone calls are available for scrutiny. Although if the powers that be read the poems I challenge any of them to be able to categorise mine. A small win for poets.
ReplyDeleteHaha! FB is just faces, and whatever we feel like saying. Who you are is splendid, and what you envision is surely aflame!
ReplyDeleteThis one was kind of like two different poems to me. And the second one was a freight train. It turned into something powerfully unexpected.
ReplyDeleteThe middle verse was the turning-point.
DeleteFood for thought and laughter ... your ways with words (etc) continues to delight and instruct :)
ReplyDeleteOnly thing surprising is that people are surprised their data is being used :) Of course it is! Every keystroke!
ReplyDeleteYes, I know. And have made the choice to live with that. It's good to be aware of it, at least.
DeleteHa ha, I agree with your last line :)
ReplyDeleteMagical write!
ReplyDeletejust right for FB...prepare a face to meet a face'
ReplyDeleteI heard you say, "You can't judge a book by its cover...nor a woman, who has grown old, by her appearance." Loved your write.
ReplyDeletea little tongue in cheek with a lining of truth... I always wonder why big brother ( or big sister) is so interested I never thought what is in my cupboard was earth shattering... :)
ReplyDeleteThey want to make money out of us.
DeleteI LOVE this, especially the last stanza. Wonderful! I was drawn to dark, brooding, difficult types too - I blame early exposure to Heathcliff. LOL.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, that must be it! LOLOL.
DeleteWonderful and present, Rosemary! I too, am bothered by those men in the service who just want to meet a nice woman. What creeps! You do look like the sweetest of old ladies and oh boy I'd love to see their faces when they find out the truth! Slay them girl!
ReplyDeleteHow I loved this. Writers are inveterate liars, that's what we do every day nobody really knows us...or can trust us!
ReplyDeleteCame for the second time. A wonderful, wonderful voice you have Rosemary! Wow!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad you think so! Thank you.
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