Consumption Poem by Seamus O' Brian

Consumption

Rating: 5.0


to grate our souls through the plining of impestuous days,
reclining yesterdays once the velvet cordoned entry way
to a dark and dusty death, "Lay on, MacDuff, and damned
be him who first cries, ‘Hold, enough! '" but I've had enough
of this upended carousel run by uncivil gerbils ‘round the wheel
through the night and forever in my mind, urging me to buy
to buy, to buy, to chase after the Joneses, and run them down
with a Jaguar whose lease could feed a village if not for the
fan-tousled, aqua-black cocktail witch wagging her finger seductively
protesting the abandonment of this steel and leather opportunity
to distract from the curse of my expanding bald spot which seems
a more crucial imperative than the expanding ozone hole.
Instagram witches monetizing their fifteen minutes of fame,
duck-lipped exhalations blow out, out, brief candles in vain,
their ignorance of tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
the surface reflection of a witches' brew devoid of hubris or shame.
A scarlet letter upon her palms, for Ambition was her middle name,
the wife of Macbeth would have ten thousand followers today
but all the toys in Harrods still would not take that damn spot away.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: consume,greed,society
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Tom Billsborough 10 August 2017

Shakespeare and Hawthorne in one poem and very entertaining it is too. my late wife's favourite phrase from MacBeth is Is this a dagger I see before me... The answer is, no love it's a putty knife. Must say lady MacBeth is a good symbol for the Consumer Society too.

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Seamus O Brian 15 August 2017

Thanks, Tom! Appreciate the kind thoughts. Macbeth has always been one of my favorites.

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Jette Blackstone 14 October 2017

So that was a super fun rant! Conspicuous consumption and people following unfollowable bullies...seem to rule this day. The bald spot and the spot that won't come out and wow... you somehow brough in Macbeth. There is so much to like in this writing. A true prose poem where the poet unleashes.

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Glen Kappy 16 August 2017

thinking more on this, neal. if we could all grasp the idea of enough. how much does it take to enjoy a sunset? ultimately, is there any security in this world? the primary sin, as i understand it, is taking to ourselves the responsibility for our security instead of trusting God for it. impressive, amazing in his example, we are told, abram trusted God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (the only righteousness for us there is, that we get, using the new testament word, through faith) . -glen

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Bharati Nayak 14 August 2017

A nice commentary on our modern consumerist attitude - - Big and glamorous advertisements seduce the naive consumers into the trap to run after their products.The advertisement Houses really do not care about the environment nor about the health of the consumer.Profit is what they care.

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Seamus O Brian 15 August 2017

Greetings, Bharati! How kind of you to stop by! I always appreciate your kind and gracious thoughts. Always a privilege. Be blessed, my friend.

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Captain Cur 11 August 2017

Excellently written indictment on greed and selfishness in our modern consumer propelled world. Nothing is without reach for the right price including happiness or so the ads proclaim. A forceful yet sadly amusing ending.

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Seamus O Brian 15 August 2017

Thanks, Captain! Always pleased to see you on shore leave. :) Thanks for the gracious thoughts, good sir.

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Glen Kappy 10 August 2017

whew! a good expression of the disgust at this, neal. and then i think of the lines from ps 46 in a favorite rendering of mine: step out of the traffic. take a long loving look at me your high God above politics, above everything. glen

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Seamus O Brian 15 August 2017

That's a great rendition, Glen. Sounds like the Message. :) Great to hear from you! Be blessed, my friend.

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