… The machine appeared In the distance, singing to itself Of money. Its song was the web They were caught in, men and women Together. The villages were as flies To be sucked empty God secreted A tear. Enough, enough. He commanded, but the machine Looked at him and went on singing. R.S. Thomas Welsh poet R.S. Thomas frequently referred to mechanized and materialistic society as the machine, an apt metaphor that holds up even today despite Thomas passing in 2000 — his life barely glimpsing the technology we take for granted today. This particular passage is taken from a poem called Other and his 1972 collection H’m. I can imagine he’d have strong words about where we’re currently headed and those pushing us in that direction. Footnotes Thomas, R.S. H’m. Macmillan, 1972. Reply via e-mail or follow me at @scottboms@typo.social on Mastodon.
No comments yet. Log in to reply on the Fediverse. Comments will appear here.