March 8, 2011
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ElectricPoetry: A Brand New Poem!
"Social Networking"
Poetry by Michael F. Nyiri
03/08/11 5:46 p.m. pdtI live in the real world, and not on my space
Feel my heart beat, and look into my face
I walk on the ground, don't fly in cyberspace
I'm aware, on the earth, and exist in it's graceThis home rimmed by walls is my home, my small nook
I never wanted to be just another face in the book
A decade on the internet is a journey I took
My face is my roadmap, and I invite you to lookI'm not an avatar, a profile pic, a username
This heart is afire, and it's a tangible flame
My friends may be cyphers, and life may be a game
But the dirt under my fingernails is as real as my claimWe all dance or trundle along on our path
With hyper expressive joy or cold wrath
When this dirt from the earth covers, it's time for a bath
But we need to get out more, express, do the mathThe 'net is a wonderful resource, I need ya
From the Huffington Post to Google and Wikipedia
A few clicks, a search term,will the mind really feed ya
It's better than hearsay, or gossip, or the mediaBut if the world wide web were to wander away
Disappear, get begone, and leave me here to stay
I would still have a wonderful world in which to play
As I lived in the past, would I live right here todayBecause I live in the real world, and not on my space
Reach out and touch me, these lines on my face
I stand on the globe, spinning fast in my place
And nothing save death will cause my self to eraseAnd after I'm gone you can check out my website
www.allthingsmike.com for as long as it's upright
Contains dozens of pages, thousands of words that I write
Copy/paste my being, until it fades fast from sightError 404 life not found
BEHIND THE POETRY: I had a lot of fun with this one. First of all, I want to tell ya. Rhyming AAAA is NOT that easy. Even for me. Especially after the fourth or fifth stanza! The germ of the piece has been with me for almost six months. It's the 2nd line in the 2nd stanza. "I never wanted to be just another face in the book." I actually had a lot of this written in my mind a couple of weeks ago, with different words, and in a different form, but didn't write it down, and tonight I decided to attempt to reform it. After writing a couple of lines, the AAAA rhyme pattern sort of creeped up on me and I decided to finish the whole thing that way.
The subject is one that possibly most young folks might not even recognize. I'm declaring that I'm real, I'm not a "persona" in cyberspace. Of course, my "persona" in cyberspace has always been me, but for some, the anonymity that social networking on the internet affords, helps them to "create" many personas. Add the fact that many people online play computer games, and gaming of course includes "lives" one creates, and one can create many "lives" or personas in cybergames.
Toward the finish of the poem, I touch on the subject of finality of life once more, sort of a subject which stays with me and gets closer the older I get. The poem turns full circle, and I surmise that once this "real life" ends, the cyber life might even take over, until the pages fade from the web, in which case the "Error 404 file not found" announcement is worded a bit differently. One final thought. For years, I didnt' even mention "online" or "cyberspace" or "the internet" in my poetry. Even though I wrote poems back in the 80s like Computer Dreams 1 or Game Over, Insert Quarter. It took me a while to even be able to reference the internet in my poetry, cause at first I didn't think it was "literary" enough. Definitely "old school" eh? MFN/ppf
Comments (17)
I love this, Mike--brilliantly expressed and to-the-point. It's crazy to think that this really touches on such a relevant issue--who would've thought many years ago that a poem like this wouldn't sound bizarre by any means? I'm glad you decided to write it all down today! Thank you for sharing
Dear Michael,
Would it be too personal if I told you "I love you"? I was always treated poorly growing up. It had alot to do with social stance. Since I have discovered the internet, I have enriched my life with different views from across the world. Just last Saturday, one of the xangans was at a recital, drinking tea and was thinking of me. I thought while I read this...have I made that much difference in someone's life? What effect have I had on the world with just little inspirational thoughts? I have touched lives in Malaysia, Phillipines, England, Portugal, Turkey, France, and these are just the people I know. It fills my heart with happiness to know that people visit on a day to day basis to see what I have shared...and notice when I'm gone. Everyone has been there when I really needed support (when I least expected it) and it has improved my life considerably. The girl who was left broken and hopeless, has found hope in a world who found her. It makes it easier to "surround myself with creative and intelligent people" this way. You I have refered to in the past as my "wise guru". I stick by the statement today.
Ann
some good rappin here
I always enjoy reading your poems. They have intelligence, depth, and evoke emotion in me. Your amazing words, all that you have written down, will be a part of your legacy. I think that is so special. That you will live on through your words.
You are more than "just a face in a book" to so many people...all the people who's lives you've touched. There are days I think of the comments you've left on my sight, and I smile. 
Thank you.
HUGS!
This was a fun and really good poem. I enjoyed it a lot.
The rhymes work really well. The irregular rhythm is probably good for me, though I would have tried to fit it all into 12-13 syllables per line, I think. I really love the subject matter. I'm a cybergirl, to be sure. I blog sometimes two or three times per day (I don't think you know about my blogger account), I do the facebook thing (it has a fun version of Scrabble), and I have friends all across the country and the world whom it's hard to reach in other ways. However, one of my favorite practices of late is to take half an hour at lunch while the weather is still gorgeous here and walk outside in my company's "back yard." For the past four days I've been reading a book of children's poetry, and I hope I continue in this vein until it gets too muggy to continue. It's soul-refreshing. I'm also enjoying game nights with friends at my church. And face time with my boyfriend. We have the capability, but since we started dating we rarely talk online, preferring instead to wait until we're physically in the same space.
In short (this is turning into a Mike-sized epistle), I think that the 'net is a great tool, and certainly one I rely on heavily, but I make a point to still enjoy real life. When I'm on vacation, I don't miss the Internet at all. My sister is so radical that she swears it off altogether, preferring to live as free of this medium as possible. It's insane to me, but I'm proud of her wacky convictions.
@webofsimplicity - Dear Kelly, Your comment was my only comment last night when I went to bed, and I thank you most completely. My condolences to your teacher, and my prayers go out to her.
@hesacontradiction - Dear Ann, I love you too. Nuff said. I don't acknowledge the impact we have each other in so many words, but I do enjoy the capability of the internet to do just that. I'm a fan of Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life". I believe we're all connected with the Universal MInd. I write in the introduction to my poetry site one of my "quotes" from the past, "I want to reach out and touch humanity's face." (And in the current poem, I am asking humanity to touch mine!) However, the tendency I'm seeing in young people to "text" others in the same space in lieu of looking up from their "connected" device to LOOK at the people to whom they are addressing disturbs me. We have 16 employees at work, and everyone (except me, it sometimes seems) would rather write an email than walk down the hall and have a communication.
@Diva_Jyoti_3 - Dear Allison, Funny you should mention "rappin". I have wanted to perform a rap for many years. I can talk almost as fast as I type, and I've been rhyming since 14. Perhaps an upcoming Mike's Video Blog. (After my next dance vid performed to a Lady Gaga mashup.)
@adamswomanlost - Dear Eve, It touches my heart to read that you think about comments I've left you. Esp. for one who gets as many comments as you do! I should write more of them, but time sometimes becomes a constraint, and as I mention in this poem, I don't like to spend hours online, esp. living in SoCal when the weather's nice. They turn the heat on in the pool in another month. I'll probably be going on hiatus again.....
@Shining_Garnet - Dear Eden, I count you among my favorite repeat visitors and readers. You're also such a neat person, and I don't visit you as much as I should.
@BoureeMusique - Dear Emily, One of your correspondents wrote recently that you were their favorite blogger and online friend, or words to that effect, and I wanted to say , "No, she's MINE." We've "known each other" for so long, that when I finally get my present 5 year plan, to pay off debt, out of the way, my next 5 year plan, to travel more, will include a visit to go see you, if you're up to it. Of all the 'cybergirls' I know, you certainly are one who appreciates the 'real world' aspect of life. You also appreciate the past, and have a great grasp of cultural history. BTW, I listed 3 of my "got to have" websites in the poem. You can use Google as a spell checker now. Just type a word into the search bar, and the right one usually appears instantly. Wikipedia has replaced knowledge for some people. And I can usually find any link I need to ascertain the truth of a newsworthy event on either the L.A. Times or the Huffington Post. Is your sister single? (Just kidding. LOL, but I like her style too.)
Mike - I really like this one. It has that poetry slam feel about it. I want you to get up on a mike at a coffee house and send this one out to the crowd!
Definitely worth recommending! That was an excellent poem!
This is really well written. I don't like social networking sites, although I'm on one right now! FaceBook is too much drama and there is no use keeping it, although I feel seperated from the 'real world' when I actually don't use my phone or check FB. Xanga is full of great writers and people who can carry on an intellectual conversation.
I laughed out loud twice, my good man! Kudos
I wrote something similar a few months back, check it out....
http://melfamy.xanga.com/726860232/ode-to-an-outdated-website/
This was fun to read Mike. You know, I think you do fly in cyberspace.
I really like this as it not only reminds everyone else that there are real people at the keyboard, with real lives but also reminds the blogger himself that he is a person and that he is not necessarily the person he is pretending to be. Yet cyber space can also be an escape from constant pressure and allows you to think of someone else besides yourself. Indeed it can be a very constructive or distructive influence on RL.
I enjoyed this. I kept wanting to get into a rhythm with it, but you didn't let me. I think that's good because it made me pay more attention to the words. I love cyberspace. It gives me a connection to like minded people, the kind I could find none of in real life when I first logged on. Now my real life situation is much better and I neglect my cyber friends (and spaces) more than I'd like, but as your poem points out, it's our real life that is real. The only advantage cyberspace has over real life for me is that I'm actually more myself, (no alternate personas for me!), because in real life I tend to be shy and hold back until I get to know people. (Although... maybe that's a good thing, because in real life, this comment would have ended after the 3rd sentence!)
This site was... how do you say it? Relevant!!
Finally I have found something which helped me. Thank you!