Who Are The Dave Clark Five And How Did They Destroy The English Language? Poem by Roy Blokker

The discussion turned to poetry,
Or what passes for - - -
Grammar, syntax, punctuation
All went out the door.
Alliteration, meter gone. Poems
Don't rhyme anymore
Tracing back it's hard to see
Where the problem's at.
No longer do we letters write
And when we do they're flat,
But is it wrong or just progress
To communicate like that?
Age old complaint my father spoke,
And his spoke before him.
You have to move within the times,
You have to sink or swim.
But mind the word count as you go.
Verbose is seen as dim.

So when the merchants come at last
To gather us for sale
I wonder who will buy us then,
Who will post our bail?
Language lost, we mount their cars,
Quality derailed.
Let's sing ditties as we go, forgetting
Most of the words,
Marching up from the wayward coast
Like a thunderous herd,
Holding onto the precious thought
That life is not absurd.

Our Sixties Rockers fresh alive
Around the campfire sat
Wondering aloud if Dave Clark's Five
Could show us where it's at.