rage against the machine
that keeps you
pokes and prods
pricks and feeds
from the marrow
of your soul
blood and toil
aren’t that hard
to come by
we know this
there’s always
someone willing
to work for less
more to come
hurry up and wait
tread that mill
like you mean it
mean it
fill the empty spaces
places
faces
with
traces
of heart
that will later
be erased
July 3rd, 2012 at 7:45 am
there is a melancholy to this…the erasure there in the end…and the stuck on the treadmill of life…def rage against that…i can only eat so much of the same food…smiles…even if once i enjoyed its flavor…
July 3rd, 2012 at 8:28 am
‘tread that mill like you mean it’- kelly, I can’t tell you how much this poem spoke to me. I think I think these thoughts every day. This made me think about the 9-5- the bullshit that is filled within it….it’s ability to ‘erase hearts’…your economy of language here just drills it straight down- no messing around- no mincing words. I keep telling myself I shouldn’t complain- I’ve got a job right? A decent job….so why do I still feel like this….maybe it’s because I see and know how people get treated by the machine- all that counts is the cash….how can I NOT feel frustrated…this is so good…
July 3rd, 2012 at 9:00 am
So true, and often we kill the tree by girdling.
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:37 am
i read this trying to catch my breath. SOOOO well written, a couple of steps and let me stop, let me breathe, a couple more, i am winded, i stop and catch my breath. rage indeed.
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:43 am
So good, Kelly…& agreeing with Stu up there…I hate the ‘machine’ and it’s ability to steal your soul if you let….not for me, anymore. Brava
July 3rd, 2012 at 11:44 am
What do you do when the mill doesn’t want to be tread and it all seems that tad bit too much for you? Well, I circle back here and take in these words a second time and then a third and take heart in the fact that it is not just me and it is not just you and we’re fighting against our own personal “machines”. Nailed it once again ♥
July 3rd, 2012 at 12:43 pm
ugh…so well penned…we have to be so careful not to get eaten by that grinding machine…but so hard at times..
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Love the way this flows, so thankful that I stopped treading the mill some time ago.
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:11 pm
One day we will all wonder where we went wrong when our race for all this new and better technology outwits us and we become surplus to its requirements.
Powerful write 🙂
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:19 pm
pokes and prods
pricks and feeds
from the marrow
of your soul
This was the epitome for me…great writing!!
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Mrs.,
Not so easy to keep finding those pieces of the heart. So nicely spun…you almost read this in the flashing of a single thought. Fine work.
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
This is great, and so timely, hitting the nail right on the head as we find ourselves slaves to the boss more than ever before. As you said, you have to feel you’re lucky to have a job so don’t complain or someone else will take it off your hands! It’s a horrible trap isn’t it?
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Great writing! We are all fodder. Welcome to the machine.
July 3rd, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Another great poem… I just love your style!
July 3rd, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Perfect mirror of my frustration. It’s hard to feel like the mark we make will last long.
July 3rd, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Life will grind you down to just grit, won’t it? Fortunately, grit can’t get any smaller, and it it’s a real irritant to machinery of all sorts. Great metaphor, great sparseness driving it home.
July 3rd, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Beautiful.
Melancholy.
Pissed off.
So many emotions all right here streaming from your pen. As always, a profound poem.
July 3rd, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Another great poem from you, thank you.
July 3rd, 2012 at 7:01 pm
places in your heart that will be erased -> can you actually do that? erase places in your heart?
sonnet 41
July 3rd, 2012 at 7:14 pm
I like how the centering of it makes it hit hard. Its strong and minimalist.
July 3rd, 2012 at 9:06 pm
I love the gritty emotion in this. Nicely done!
July 3rd, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Bleak. Fortunately bloodstains are tough to get out. But so much treadmill despair in this one, as in the whole world lately.
Time to activate the global heart! Time to forget that we ever tried to be mere money-run machines. To for cooperation and compassion long-term for all, rather than just 90-day profits for a few!
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:09 pm
This has a driving feel that really accentuates the message. Great write.
July 4th, 2012 at 8:46 am
Amazing
July 4th, 2012 at 9:40 am
“fill the empty spaces
places
faces
with
traces
of heart
that will later
be erased”
I was chewed up and spit out by that “machine.” Eighteen years in a job that I loved and put my heart and soul into, to be let go with nary a “thank you” when the economy went south a few years ago. How quickly we can all be erased and forgotten! Great capture.
July 4th, 2012 at 11:37 am
This is very well written
July 4th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
There you go…singing my song again…Mrs.M…this is just fantastic…you capture so well the complete drowning of a soul as it gets caught up in the grind…I’m back to fighting…and woe is me…”THEY’RE” not happy!
July 4th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
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July 4th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Wow! I love your page and this poem!
July 4th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Sad that life can be so harsh. Enjoyed reading this.
July 5th, 2012 at 4:26 am
Distinct and effective in every way
July 6th, 2012 at 12:21 am
What underlined this for me was the phrase “tread that mill” which is a fabulously clever twist on the “treadmill” that we all go through, and which encapsulates your theme so well.
July 10th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
liking this, ‘tread that mill’ indeed