It's just poetry, it won't bite

City Wi-Fi Disconnect


12.03.13 Posted in today's words by

Martine Johansen is a 23-year-old journalist and writer with a postgraduate degree in journalism from London School of Journalism. She works as the Norwegian and Information and Press Officer for BetterNow in Copenhagen. In 2011 Martine completed a creative writing course at Corpus Christin in Oxford. She has a writer’s desk at skriveloftet (writer’s loft) at Litteraturhuset (The Literature House) in Oslo, Norway, where she is working on a novel.

City Wi-Fi Disconnect
By Martine Johansen

Grew into my oversize pants in Oslo
next to Africans in hoodies slinging blow
while my buddies playing Halo
In Colombia kids play Counter Strike with real guns
While we ride our bikes
And Nintendo gives us sore thumbs
In Rwanda those kids are still scared of their neighbor
and China is standing on child labor
But it’s ok, cause we got internet cables
and no ties to people
we’re wireless I guess
God bless and repossess
your car because you can’t pay
repress the urge to pray
there’s no space, press play
be kind, rewind and do the time
But sure it’s fun, sure we’re free
All I gotta be is me
Oslo city is graffiti
kids learning to be individuals
family ties are but residuals
of a lost ark
of the light in triage
when your kid in a hoodie comes in
it’s not about the streets or the goodies he slings
but about the links between him
his cousin in prison and mortal sin
This is where we log off, this is not why you signed in
Not what you signed up for, but it’s how it begins
and time flies
Let’s call it life
Let’s call it life without the lies
Let’s call it life ’til it dies
And your wife cries
’cause this is not what she signed up for
but time flies, and so do missiles
and you get wise
as Afghans look to the skies for demise
and Norway hands out another peace prize
Does that surprise–you?
That’s life, it’s strife
it’s life without the lies
life ’til it dies
and you may despise the rise of Russia
or rename the French fries
but it’s all lies, when we demonize the other
we criminalize the mother of potential allies
it’s hate for the heart ache
it’s hate for hate’s sake
creating an earthquake to wake us up

 



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