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phillip-hedayatniaPoems
You think you know me. I think I know you. We know nothing As we move forward Slouched in our office chairs of despair Some moving full throttle, the others stay still Still All in the same place All at the same level The illusion of movement Competitiveness run amok and awry An experiment gone wrong An experiment in our endless longing, our search Our eventual journey As we seek greatness and perfection While shattering the thought of it. We have been taught to question Questions bring greatness Greatness is what we long for Greatness has been subjugated No longer an aspiration, but a trade Not a product of inspiration But a product of greed Art is dead Love is dead All is dead What once was an abstract concept Is now concrete And invisible Nothing A black hole Constructed from the shattered hopes and dreams Of millenials and those who felt like we do throughout history What does "millenial" mean anyway? In every context it encapsulates Consumerism Greed Selfishness Hypocrisy Art is dead Love is dead All is dead And we killed it We dealt the death blow. We lack heart We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with greatness Greatness comes from accomplishments Accomplishments come from knowledge Knowledge comes from aspiration Aspiration comes from inspiration Inspiration... comes from the metaphysical heart The hollow men had no soul and neither do we We lean together We do not embrace We do not take the next steps Only leaning We lack what we need to see it through We are incapable of maintaining relationships. For our stamina is gone In its place, divorce, infidelity, shallowness relationships based on looks and dreams dreams of perfection based on the wrong definition We are the hollow men We are hollow We are... despairing Despair why would we despair? if we did not care? are we then hollow? if we worry, is that not out of concern? is concern not out of love? does love... not stem from the heart? Sometimes I wonder Can you still have a heart If you have a mind in the way?
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Dec 29, 2013
Dec 29, 2013 at 10:47 PM UTC
State of a Generation
You think you know me. I think I know you. We know nothing As we move forward Slouched in our office chairs of despair Some moving full throttle, the others stay still Still All in the same place All at the same level The illusion of movement Competitiveness run amok and awry An experiment gone wrong An experiment in our endless longing, our search Our eventual journey As we seek greatness and perfection While shattering the thought of it. We have been taught to question Questions bring greatness Greatness is what we long for Greatness has been subjugated No longer an aspiration, but a trade Not a product of inspiration But a product of greed Art is dead Love is dead All is dead What once was an abstract concept Is now concrete And invisible Nothing A black hole Constructed from the shattered hopes and dreams Of millenials and those who felt like we do throughout history What does "millenial" mean anyway? In every context it encapsulates Consumerism Greed Selfishness Hypocrisy Art is dead Love is dead All is dead And we killed it We dealt the death blow. We lack heart We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with greatness Greatness comes from accomplishments Accomplishments come from knowledge Knowledge comes from aspiration Aspiration comes from inspiration Inspiration... comes from the metaphysical heart The hollow men had no soul and neither do we We lean together We do not embrace We do not take the next steps Only leaning We lack what we need to see it through We are incapable of maintaining relationships. For our stamina is gone In its place, divorce, infidelity, shallowness relationships based on looks and dreams dreams of perfection based on the wrong definition We are the hollow men We are hollow We are... despairing Despair why would we despair? if we did not care? are we then hollow? if we worry, is that not out of concern? is concern not out of love? does love... not stem from the heart? Sometimes I wonder Can you still have a heart If you have a mind in the way?
I myself am a huge fan of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot. My use of the term "greatness" mocks speakers like Jordan Belfort, who claim that they have risen to it. My use of the line "Art Is Dead" references the song of the same name by Bo Burnham. It's brilliant, and I would suggest you check it out. The line "You think you know me" references Bo's song/piece "We Think We Know You," as well. This poem was written 'all at once,' meaning that there were no edits made. This was simply my stream of consciousness.
phillip-hedayatnia
Written by
phillip-hedayatnia
American
Dec 29, 2013
Dec 29, 2013 at 10:47 PM UTC
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