1984

The clock strikes 13

The world’s modern

But not green

What’s seeing is unseen.

 

The world’s just a dome

Where you’re always alone

The future, the past

Are together at last

In a shape-shifting present

Where yesterday’s

Tomorrow,

Both enemies,

And borrow

Sharing pens, swapping papers

And cheating their makers.

 

Pastures aren’t new

Just a queue to a zoo

Of scripted, blind creatures

No substance or features

The eye can rely on

Nor prove their existence.

 

Poisonous tethers

Are life’s little pleasures

Obscene and illegal

And momentary

Do not pick one up

Do not bring it back

Don’t make it a habit

And don’t even blab it

Not even to your children

Least your friends or your brethren

For the dome is the world

And the world is an office

Inter-connected

By networks of gossip.

Ask it no questions

It tells you no lies

Use only your eyes -

Be accepted.

 

Talk about nothing

Follow the crowd

Do not trust your neighbour

And don’t think aloud.

Be fed by machines

news, food and culture

Toxic to the vulture

That picks at the bones

Damaging to the lens

That examines too close

Fatal to the man who discovers

Too much

And knows his life

Is not real.

 

You’re permitted no memories

Not even your mother

Stands-up to Big Brother

For He is your lover

Your mentor, your guide

Your escort and consort

He is your Father

He sees you , He feeds you

He bleeds you

And breaks you.

 

He spells-out your sentence

By moulding your grammar

And channels your resentment

To a target you clamour

For blindness of hatred

Two minutes are slated

A frenzy then sated

And it’s back to the slammer.

 

Then all is the same again

Today is tomorrow

From yesterday borrowed

Nothing has changed

Black is white

Wrong is right

Same war and same foe

Though a short time ago

Its face had been different

Your mind now receives

What your eyes do not see

And may well disagree

But your soul has been sold

And what you are told

Is what you must know:

It is so.

 

To think straight

In a sense

Is an electric fence

Which fends-in unreality

And debars actuality

For that is a sin

And should you begin

Such a misguided venture

To follow that path

The clear aftermath

Of seeking discovery

And exploring alone

Is to stand on the tail

Of the Host-Devil’s body

Which will turn round

And bite you

And for all you may fight

You

Can never win

 

For you shout in the dark

And no one will come

And no one will like you

Nor thank you for showing

The fear that pervades them

Of breaking the mould

For what they’ve been told

And to what they’ve been sold.

 

For the whole world is mad

With constraint and normality

Imprisoned mentality

What they know:

It is so.

 

For you are the human

In a lifetime of vampires

That stalk, cloaked, each street

With the masses, the meat

That pack around campfires

And claim themselves Citizen

You may wish to be rid of them

But they’ll rid of you

 

For you are the dead

To them

They are the living

You’re the misgiving

Upon whom they’ll tread

You’re surrounded, confounded

Reform! and conform!

You are part of the body

The whole of the norm

Ours is your mind

And yours is our soul

We as one

Build the mantle

To which you are led

Where your mind will be white-washed

And your soul will be bled

And here comes a chopper

To chop off your head!

Reviews

[alesuriko]

Beautiful satire. I adore this so much. Great social statement... absolutely brilliant. I do have to say though, the end of the "To think straight" stanza... really didn't flow, especially compared to the rest of the poem. But this is truly an amazing poem with such great wording, vivid and explicit imagery, and such great references. Like the end, good Alice reference even if it wasn't purposeful. Also the lines "Reform! and conform! / You are part of the body / The whole of the norm" really reminded me of "V for Vendetta," with how England is the body, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, etc. Wonderfully written poem, extremely expressive and so blunt and hard hitting. You opened this poem so well by using 13. It gave the setting and atmosphere such life that ran throughout the rest of the poem without flaw. The rhyme and rhythm is also wonderful. Well done.

I'd also just like to add that my favorite stanzas were the fourth stanza "Poisonous tethers / Are life’s little pleasures" and the last stanza. Really great to read!

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

oh yes, good job with True on The Beatles write, loved it!

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

I love the book 1984 .. it seems to have been truth not fiction.. so many things have came about that was in the book and yes, I do believe Big Brother is watching you/us.
Your poem is dark and depressing as is the path this world is on .. you got it right and you wrote it well..

Chloe

[J. Alexis Balaguer]

Satirical. This poem is chuck full of quotable lines and I thoroughly enjoyed image after image, concept after concept. True enough in the course of modernization, what have we become but the devolved human?

My favorite lines:
Be fed by machines
news, food and culture
Toxic to the vulture
- Three wonderfully clever lines. Quite surprising really, but true.
and
For you are the dead
To them
They are the living
- Great way to facilitate the ending. What is existence? What for is existing?

Another thing I like is that there is a hint of humor in this complex poem of life's modernity. Wonderful write. A favorite!

Keep writing,
Alex

[A.Lee]

I love the feel of this poem and the format you wrote it in really helped that. I also liked that it DOES kind of have a sense of randomness about it until you actually slow down and really read it. Which really actually fits with the theme of this piece. Nice job.

[Christina May Shanaberg]

This poem showed a real feel for the book, "1984!" I enjoyed reading it!!

[R E Tree]

What a masterpiece!!!!
5 out of 5 stars
Also the most longest poem I have ever read without getting bored
I love how you have described the world as an office inter-connected by networks of gossip. Sometimes I feel I can never get away from gossip. Its either about me or someone I really love

[MissWordSmith]

ok. though it read totally brilliantly, there was a sense of randomness that held my eyes to the poem. at first glance, it looks really long, but there are some really beautiful lines in here. i thought the beginning was weak, and the rhyming felt really forced. but, it was like an escalator; it got better and better.


"For the whole world is mad

With constraint and normality

Imprisoned mentality

What they know:

It is so.



For you are the human

In a lifetime of vampires

That stalk, cloaked, each street

With the masses, the meat

That pack around campfires

And claim themselves Citizen

You may wish to be rid of them

But they’ll rid of you"


amazing lines. I especially LOVE, just LOVE ..
"Imprisoned mentality
What they know
It is so"

So simple, yet such amazing depth and such wisdom. something i ponder on a lot of times.

overall, a random, but great catchy write, sprinkled with fantastic lines that made it a joy to read.


ps - haven't read the book!

[Sara]

whoa, i like your poetry but, man, is it dark. i remember reading '1984' in high school and getting to the final page and being *so* depressed (dystopian futures really aren't my thing... i'm more of a romance kinda gal. darcy? yes. big brother? no.) this, however, i cannot fault. another well-crafted piece, and a good retelling of the novel, if not in plot, then definitely in theme. i love how you used the same first line as the novel -- i always thought it was so effective in the book at introducing the whole uneasy tone, and it achieves the same thing here... plus, 13's such a creepy number anyways... i think, overall, your rhyme reads pretty smoothly, and even though it was long, i didn't get bored by the poem; you held my attention the whole way through... the one thing that kinda stood out for me was the 'vampires' thing -- i'm still debating if i like that or not. i get what you're saying about the masses being 'dead' and all, but it just seems out of place -- it just has too many connotations my mind immediately jumps to (twilight, dracula, etc), which kind of disrupted my flow a bit while i was reading... but then again, the 'vampires' thing works because '1984' could almost be construed as a 'horror' story so to speak... i don't know. whatever. ignore me and my mumblings... point is, i liked your poem. good job. :)

[Truly Ross-Wisehart]

Poor Winston rebelling. Whatever was he thinking? That he could stand up to the Minitrue and win? Had he been successful he would have been, indeed, the last 'man' (free-thinking, truth-knowing) in Europe(Airstrip one). But, then, no one wanted to hear such rubbish...did they?

Your writing continues to fascinate me, sir. This is excellent!

~True

[ashley]

This is unbelievable... perfect the way you captured everything. 1984 has to be one of my favorite books, ever. Fantastic job! :D