Monovision

This poem and art inspired by René Magritte’s “Golconda” —>

 


Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Monovision” by: rob kistner © 3/19/24

 
U nfurling linearity
accumulating into the future
tethered to a uniform past
paralyzed in the now

over and over
repeating in my head
these same odd words
this same strange vision
a visual drone
over and over

unfurling linearity
accumulating into the future
tethered to a uniform past
paralyzed in the now

always the same fevered dream
this inflexible fear

I am fallen paralyzed
unable to lift my head

then I see coming
ever coming
falling slowly
out of the mist
drifting down
always coming

menacingly
unsmiling
faces

coming down

I want to rise up
run at them
scream at them
shake them

but I cannot
I cannot

then a low drone
a haunting chorus of voices

I’m going
going mad I think
then I scream out
in my smothering nightmare
“I’m going mad
absolutely mad!”

suddenly
in voiced unison

“yes Asimo
you are going mad”

“Asimo” I shout back
“my name is not Asimo”

then comes again
the unified voice
a disembodied voice
“oh, but we are all Asimo now”

“no” I cry out
“please go away
leave me alone
what do you want!”

“want?
why — you Asimo…
we want you”

“I think you’re all crazy”
in my dream
my head’s tilted back
angrily shouting

“no no Asimo, you are — thinking?
there’s no thinking —
just being comfortably tethered…
tethered to our uniform past
safe in our rigid now
unfurling into our linear future”

I am shuddering as I awaken
sweating
terrified

then, suddenly startled
I hear it

yes
in the distance

an unmistakable
low droning

unintelligible unified voices

*
rob kistner © 2024

Poetry at: dVerse

 



23 thoughts on “Monovision”

  1. What a ride you take us on with this one, melding time with

    “unfurling linearity
    accumulating into the future
    tethered to a uniform past
    paralyzed in the now”

    And the waking into the same “dream”. Life does seem incredibly linear at times, at other times not.

  2. A very surreal poem, Rob. Well done. I love Pete Seeger’s song! I sing it every time I go down the road and see all those rows of houses in new developments that look all the same!
    “… all made out of ticky tacky and the all look just the same!”

  3. “unfurling linearity
    accumulating into the future
    tethered to a uniform past
    paralyzed in the now”

    I love this effect – I think this resonates with I tried to write as well.

  4. A scary glimpse into a possible future – let’s hope it doesn’t happen, Rob. The repetition of the opening stanza works so well, and I like the way you separated these lines to make them threatening:
    ‘falling slowly
    out of the mist
    drifting down
    always coming

    menacingly
    unsmiling
    faces’.
    I was also chilled by the ‘low drone / a haunting chorus of voices’.

    1. Yes, let’s definitely hope that it doesn’t Kim. Sadly, there are an awful lot of high profile people in this world, especially among the politicians and governmental leaders, who would be quite fine with such a nightmare, if it insured them unlimited power. I appreciate that you appreciate my unusual writing style and form, my friend. I approach it as though I were speaking to the reader, conversationally, using the breaks and spaces to accentuate dialogue, and thought dialogue — storytelling.

    1. I am pleased Sean, scary makes you really think — when it’s subtle… because it creeps up on you, and imbeds in your subconscious mind. Asimo is the name of a $2,500,000.00 full humanoid robot, that Honda built in Japan in the year 2000. It took 14 years to develop, beginning in 1986. That original wholistic project was never continued, but it did spawn robotic devices to follow. Asimo now lives in the Miraikan museum in Tokyo.

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