Set up, like in many households
in order to honor
the complete knowledge
of the human race
a lone sentinel seated within a carefully selected chair
that shows reminiscent battle scars
of its sedentary occupant’s tyrannical rule
for like many statues
I do not move
except for my hands
my hands are important
for they control the navigation
of a database known as the internet
See I started young
‘cause my parents were seasoned operators
and back then
you didn’t have much to fear
just a lot of time spent on AOL messenger
where I made my first attempts at flirting
because its easy to seem calm and collected
when you’ve got time to reflect on your smart ass comment
Eventually new streets opened up
and as the internet grew
so did my habits and curiosity
while the average person has a few key locations
where they pan for nuggets of gold
they are quickly exhausted
where upon they’ll return to their day to day lives
for me?
I run a marathon, of infinite laps
around a circuit of dig sites
where you’ll find me deep underground
unaware that the sun has left the sky
unaware that the canary no longer sings
unaware that the debris is piling high
They say there is a chemical, released in your brain
everytime you learn something new
that it gives a sense of pleasure
and it is such chemistry that fuels these long stints online
the name of the substance is just a google search away
but I get nervous whenever I look that closely at myself
so I sit in self imposed paralysis
staring at this luminous window
watching the world
I remember haiti
I remember watching Anderson Cooper
in his tight fasionable under armor shirt
(he looked damn good surrounded by all that poverty)
pulling a bleeding crying helpless child
from the rubble of a house made of clay
I was so affected I think I even nodded my head a bit
so it was easy to click that donate button
course afterwards when reports surfaced
saying the red cross
had only given a fraction of the record breaking donations
to actual relief efforts
I had paid no mind
for I had gone back to watching the world
I remember Tunisia
I remember watching a graduate student
who felt like he had no other options
set himself on fire
this was no Buddhist monk
he wore street clothes and stood alone in the city’s square
what followed after he set himself alight
was a morbid game of tag, as police tried to chase down
the boy who refuse to let the fire die
he would live just long enough
to see the first blooms of the arab spring
I remember Egypt
I remember watching BBC News cover the riots
with streaming live footage
as they endlessly recounted the statistics of the day
I remember watching a man
get slammed in the chest
by a molatov cocktail
the night vision cameras
turned his figure
into a brilliant silhouette
he disappeared from the screen without a sound
they made no mention of it
no silent prayer or morbid chase
it had all grown so big
no noble anchorman came to the rescue
no click of the button could make it right
I just sat there and watched
but even that wasn’t enough
for after a month or so I stopped paying attention
apparently revolution unfolds too slowly for me
Besides, at the time
there were more important things on my mind
like did you know
they almost took the TV show “Community” off the air?
fucking horrible right?
because that’s what I really care about
I stood up for that
I threw a tantrum for that
how dare NBC try and take away my show
I mean . . .
that’s what the internet does best
just like when we took down SOPA
we can all come together when it means
safeguarding our entertainment
there was no difference of opinion
it was obvious to everyone
what must be done
our past times must be protected
So I’ll keep up my vigilant watch
with an eye on the horizon
I’ll be quick to point out the thin wisps of smoke
to spot the fire, so others may watch as well
but there won’t be any water
for I am a proud statue
and I do not move
I just sit here
and watch the world burn
