The day science fiction is obliged to save the world

[bodkin]

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world


The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
the alien fleet decloaks, apologises; says—
it isn't us, it's them—
and takes their vinyl collection back into hyperspace.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
a mutant traffic cop applies penalty notices
directly to the psyche of every boy-racer
from Kathmandu to Watford gap.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
the powers that be discover a new minority
but disagree on how to disenfranchise
the unbearable little freaks.

The day science fiction etcetera etcetera
a giant robot strides through the panicking city
with notebook and a magnifying glass;
placing each foot with exquisite care.

Because science fiction has stopped faking it:
no more hints and portents
no more signs for shops that don't exist
selling products you don't know how to use
and no more shapes for things that are not yet yet to come.
It's a day to mark in history
although possibly not ours.

The day science fiction comes into its full powers
the day the sky opens
for casual visitation,
and a day without
the city walls where we spread our picnic rug
on the grass of a hill that is being destroyed
at precisely the same rate it is being created,

is the day science fiction stops taking prisoners
my ex takes the biggest step of her life
from the top of a tall building
up, onto the top of the next.

On this day of which we have already spoken
a brain in a tank imagines a real planet
where minds on experimental drugs dream
the feedback loop completely closed
and change the bag on its nutrient feed.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
is the day that my pencil breaks
in Applied Philosophy 101
and the patterns of interference
between the answers I can't now give
and questions they didn't dare ask
tell me everything I need to know.

The day science fiction was obliged to save the world
was a day like any other day:
it rained in the morning;
cleared up later;
I bought myself a cake.

[JJWilliamson]

So much to admire in this one, Ian.

I lost my way in a few spots and wondered if the refrain was overdone.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world


The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
the alien fleet decloaks, apologises; says—
it isn't us, it's them—
and takes their vinyl collection back into hyperspace. ...I think I've got this strophe. Vinyl is making a comeback, though.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
a mutant traffic cop applies penalty notices
directly to the psyche of every boy-racer
from Kathmandu to Watford gap. ...It's always Watford Gap.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
the powers that be discover a new minority
but disagree on how to disenfranchise
the unbearable little freaks.

The day science fiction etcetera etcetera
a giant robot strides through the panicking city
with notebook and a magnifying glass;
placing each foot with exquisite care. ...Sci-fi movie robots do move through the streets with great care, don't they.

Because science fiction has stopped faking it:
no more hints and portents
no more signs for shops that don't exist
selling products you don't know how to use
and no more shapes for things that are not yet yet to come. ...the double 'yet' looks deliberate. Is it?
It's a day to mark in history
although possibly not ours. ...Not following this strophe yet.

The day science fiction comes into its full powers
the day the sky opens
for casual visitation,
and a day without
the city walls where we spread our picnic rug
on the grass of a hill that is being destroyed
at precisely the same rate it is being created,

is the day science fiction stops taking prisoners
my ex takes the biggest step of her life
from the top of a tall building
up, onto the top of the next.

On this day of which we have already spoken
a brain in a tank imagines a real planet
where minds on experimental drugs dream ...I'm a bit lost from this line onwards, but like it in spite of my inadequacies.
the feedback loop completely closed
and change the bag on its nutrient feed.

The day science fiction is obliged to save the world
is the day that my pencil breaks
in Applied Philosophy 101
and the patterns of interference
between the answers I can't now give
and questions they didn't dare ask
tell me everything I need to know. ...Yes, but how do you know? (sorry)

The day science fiction was obliged to save the world
was a day like any other day:
it rained in the morning;
cleared up later;
I bought myself a cake. ...The close is great.

I smiled all the way through. Hope that's appropriate.

Best

JJ

[Macavity]

Performs well. Perhaps you could end on coffee and cake.

best

mac

[David]

Like JJ - I think - I got a bit lost in this. Maybe it's because the narrative voice doesn't seem consistent. S1 puts the aliens and us into an end-of-relationship scenario. S2 is a straight - and rather good - sci-fi idea. (Can I still say sci-fi?) S3 is political satire. And so on.

Is there something that binds the whole thing together? Not that I could see. And things get even more diverse later on.

Which isn't to say there's not a lot to enjoy in it. There is, and I enjoyed it.

The day science fiction comes into its full powers
the day the sky opens
for casual visitation,
and a day without
the city walls where we spread our picnic rug
on the grass of a hill that is being destroyed
at precisely the same rate it is being created

That's a snippet from the poem I'd really like to read.

Cheers

David

[bodkin]

Thanks all,

The overall critique that the parts of this don't sit easily together may be valid.

For me there is a sort of link, but it is perhaps about the relationship between SciFi and the so-called "real world" rather than any specific aspect of the world. This may not come over to the typical reader, and actually I may not even be saying it very well to me

One to revise sometime, maybe...

Ian

[Antcliff]

I realise it would not say all of what you want to say. But I like the poem that consists simply of the first four stanzas.


Seth

[bodkin]

I realise it would not say all of what you want to say. But I like the poem that consists simply of the first four stanzas.


Seth

Yes, there is something it that. I was thinking of those as the introduction, a sort of volta at the end of those four bits... Then a slightly different theme until the last strophe, which is the putting it all in perspective section...

Thanks,

Ian

[lotus]

Thanks all,

The overall critique that the parts of this don't sit easily together may be valid.

For me there is a sort of link, but it is perhaps about the relationship between SciFi and the so-called "real world" rather than any specific aspect of the world. This may not come over to the typical reader, and actually I may not even be saying it very well to me

One to revise sometime, maybe...

Ian

dear Ian
for me there are pure links
some we do not recognize ourselves even though we have noted them
and found a home for them in our lines

your mention os SciFi and the real world brought me to wonder how Surrealism might fit in
and thought you might enjoy knowing of this artist

The Father of Iranian Surrealism Gets a Major Retrospective in His Homeland

https://hyperallergic.com/433730/father ... -homeland/


a warm smile from the land of windmills
silent lotus