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December 31, 2007 6:37 pm |
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Internet/Blogging, Poems |
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.
I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.
I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.
- Richard Brautigan
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Andy wrote |
January 3, 2008 @ 2:30 am |
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I like to think
(someday, please)
that I can retire from electronics
and enjoy my weekends.
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Laura wrote |
January 3, 2008 @ 11:16 am |
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Yes! Me too! It’s interesting (don’t you think) that this poem was published in 1968? The first time I read it – in the 1980’s – it struck me as beautiful. Idealistic. Now I read it and think “ominous.” It still reads as beautiful to me. But with a sinister edge.
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anne wrote |
January 3, 2008 @ 6:47 pm |
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Did you really read it first way back then? Hmmm, wow! Back then is when I said “not me, I’m not gonna join that hi tech world!” Now look, can’t do without it, although I learn only what I have to to get by. Nature and machines? I’d rather not. Ominous, yes….
happy new year to you two!!!!!
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Laura wrote |
January 4, 2008 @ 1:46 pm |
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Happy new year to you too!
Why did I choose this poem for New Year’s? I think it may have something to do with yearning. It expresses a yearning for a deeper connection with the natural world that’s somehow facilitated by technology which is something I relate to. At the same time it evokes a slew of uncomfortable questions about technology and control.
Not all sweetness and light, I know. But it spoke to me. I bet these are the questions that’ll haunt me in the studio this year…
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Dan O'Hanlon wrote |
July 25, 2008 @ 11:32 am |
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Well, I hate to admit it, Laura, but I read it the month is was published back in 1968 — before you were BORN! Thanks for the memory, Dan
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Laura wrote |
July 25, 2008 @ 2:43 pm |
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Ha! Thanks for the smile. Prescient poem, eh? I’d be curious to hear how you perceived it in ‘68. As ominous back then as it feels now?
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