Burnout

The day breaks and the morning comes alive
The down and outs leave their luxurious trappings
The shop doorways are hosed down
The rush hour rushes by
Shop girls display tomorrow's must-haves
Perfume lingers over the first hit of coffee
Gossip travels at high speed
Numb minding work begins
Old lady fidgets with new generation card
The war was easier she sighs
Kids try to sell you tomorrows version of yesterday's wheel
No catch up it seems in the technological world
Only the race to the bottom
Traders popping uppers invent the ten-day week
Live for today, a dollar tomorrow
Gold and sharp suits can’t hide the body crumbling
Clinic's battery charge the fading hopefuls
New lease of life, the temporary meltdown
One born every minute
Evening drinks b***h the day from hell
Hometime sets tomorrow's doom alarm
The night people emerge
Shop doorway heaters blowing, provide luxury
Last weeks paper catches his eye
He immediately goes to stocks and shares
Things are looking great
Just as he predicted
The twenty-four-year-old drifts off to sleep, smiling thoughts of yesteryear
Those were the days
Those were the days.

Reviews

[Carola]

lovely poem paul, & great reflections of yesterday.
i honestly think that modern marketing causes a lot of social problems with the 'must-haves' & has a lot to answer for. it's a useful but evil tool.
cheerio carola

[Paul Bell]

They always say we're one pay packet away from the street. Strange times we live in.

[KT-B]

Excellent write Paul matches my poem "slave to the machine" kind of, only yours is of higher intellect and creativity - :)

[Paul Bell]

Same ending, KT. We're all dying out. lol

[Alistair (Ali)]

Its a great write- and sadly all too real. Capitalism and consumerism our hideous first-world achievement.
I feel these words.

[Paul Bell]

Yeah, love your fellow men. That was the first to be sold.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

A cynical trot through a typical day in a world full of greed, hate and superficiality. You portrayed the futility and the mundanity so well here.

[Paul Bell]

Money, the road to hell.

[Neville]

some things never change.. mind some things do and then.... then there's burn out.. a brilliant observational bit o poetry and true... N

[Paul Bell]

The young just don't know the concept of the pub for unwinding.

[Neville]

true... but there aint many left are there.. another bit o our heritage insidiously dying.......

[NotUsinganymore]

Very interesting take on society. I enjoyed it!

[Paul Bell]

This must be right up your street. South Koreans work really hard, don't they.

[NotUsinganymore]

Right most of us xD We have to earn money for our families and ourselves. South Korea is expensive to live in.

[Paul Bell]

Nothing changes anywhere.

[Mrudula Rani]

Fast paced lines encompass a lot of story ... mingling old with new, portrait of human mentality that has't changed not a bit.

[Paul Bell]

We're all running to our deaths.

[Mrudula Rani]

Why such a pessimism? Sooner or later we all will be gone .... till then let us hope for the best!

[Paul Bell]

Defo, I am back to my eternal life. lol

[Mrudula Rani]

I am glad you are here and writing briliant poetry.

[kentuck14]

Haunting! Oh how we race through our days without noticing. I believe it was John Lennon who said, 'life is what happens while we're making all our plans.'

Great read Paul. Thanks.
Tom

[Paul Bell]

Never turn your back on time.

[Stella Armour]

i must admit that my generation, in a way have the best of both worlds.We can choose to use the internet rather than write letters and have to post them and wait for a reply, we can email our chidren rather than phone and talk to our grandchildren face to face on messenger etc.
We also have the hard earned wisdom to know that this is not good for society in general, it destroys community spirit in many ways, and everything has to be "instant."
So i can, if i wish be an old fuddy duddy grandma or i can be quite au fait with modern technology if i so wish... haha best of both worlds and in my own good time. Not daft enough to burn out just yet :)

[Paul Bell]

These young pups, Stella. Got it tough they tell me.

[Stella Armour]

lol... they don't know what tough is .

[Crowley]

Haaa!!!! wow this was really clever and amazing. Twenty four year old...lol. This reminds me of a quote and I cant remember who it was from, and it said something to the effect of Man today is no more sophisticated than man at any time during history, they have just come up with different tools. Trying to sell a new version of yesterday's wheel...brilliant. Loved every line of this. Great work.

[Paul Bell]

It really is a race out there now. But you're right, man hasn't changed that much.