Second circle in the digital age

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·

The lover's whirlwind by William Blake

The lover’s whirlwind by William Blake



for carnal lust in storms you bleed
no need to enter hell for that
you swirl around like tumbleweed

you can behave as alley cat
in second circle dance around
and search adventures in the chat

on internet ther are no bounds
as wind of networks capture us
the mating scene is not downtown

but in the iPad you’re obsessed
and what you see is what you get
with avatars you won’t discuss

and suddenly you will admit
inside the storm you are alone
with artificial fake brunettes

but still you stay and won’t condone
you’ll make excuses as you stay
and turn around inside cyclones

so as you die you know the play
the lover’s spiral suit your deeds
you just continue the ballet

—
Today we enter the third year in dVerse Open Link Night. Yay come and celebrate at the pub (opens as usual at 3 PM EST). There will be lot’s of poetry to read and plenty of fun. I celebrate with a little verse inspired by Dante and Blake.
—
July 16, 2013

70 responses to “Second circle in the digital age”

  1. The idea of online dating sites has never appealed to me – it’s like going to the zoo, when I’d really want to go on safari! But, I imagine many find it irresistible.

  2. ha. there is def lust in the digital age and probably far more ways to feed it if you hit the search bar or in a chat room…and fall in lust with what one presents…interesting how our inhibitions can disappear when we think we are anon…or who we can make ourselves out to be online…

  3. Ah yes, the internet offers opportunities we wouldn’t have dreamed of some years ago….. We have to watch our step though, as it offers both the best and worst of human nature. It is all in where you tread! (And I’ll steer clear of ‘stormy’ sites!)

  5. a friend of mine tried her luck a bit in online dating chat rooms but not very successful.. after a while she gave up…difficult to know what is fake and what is real… i know many though that met their husbands and wives on the internet….a double edged sword maybe..

  7. It’s all dopamine, isn’t it, Bjorn? You captured our fascination so beautifully. And we must be on the same wavelength — my poem for today’s OLN features the word “cyclone” as well 🙂

  10. Humanity has not yet caught up with the technology we’ve invented… Perhaps we never will. Loved the final lines in this, ballet, indeed.

  12. The internet has created so many areas of addiction, sex definitely one of them. How empty to keep having to fill that void virtually. Great write, Björn. You are always so inspired.

  13. Your words conjure up a taste of ekphrastic purity, The lover’s whirlwind, a tangled web/net indeed !! I’m also a fan of Dante and Blake !! Well Done !!

  14. Some people are addicted and it can be dangerous, in my opinion. You never know who is behind the screen. This has a wonderful flow, Bjorn.

    Pamela

  17. My best friend and her boyfriend met online 11 years ago. They’re getting married this fall. Some are lucky to find what they are looking for on the internet… many are not. A great and very interesting connection of your words and Blake’s painting. Wonderful, Björn.

  21. Order whatever and whomever from the internet, but just like ordering pizza, there’s no guarantee it will be hot or tasty..

  23. the ability to remake yourself, to be who ever you choose to be is a powerful magnetic draw — many fall in and cannot crawl out
    great write!

  24. Great illustration for this–almost prophetic. I agree completely–avatars are just a new electronic sort of veil, but what hides behind them can be almost anything. They say half of attraction is the mystery, because we fill in the blanks with our own desires.

  26. Bjorn (Bear) – That pictures is amazing and so is the write. I too like to look at pictures as they are stimulating in the writing process but, usually I find a picture after the fact.

  27. That seems like a very real poem. Although I’m married, I think many people date online or do the sites. I know many who have tried. It is a brand new world with wonder and problems all the same. Smiles to you, I just followed you but not in hot pursuit, ha ha!

  30. Your muse really does work overtime with paintings!! and I love how you juxtaposed the modern digital age with the era of Blake and Dante!! Are you an artist too?

  31. artificial brunettes… ha (what’s wrong with that?) My chat on FB is always turned off these days (usually the wrong people contacted me). Yes, Avatars are interesting – and I DO wonder what really lies behind them…

  32. How could you not be inspired by Dante and Blake…You did a great job here..internet dating can be 2nd circle of hell..but also a new “reality” Love to see what you’d do with 9th circle of hell, Bjorn…waiting…:)) Great write here 🙂

  33. We float happily on the digital sea, and don’t notice when it catches us in its current, or not until it’s almost too late. I believe you’ve charted many or our courses here, Björn. Good stuff!! ~ j

  35. There’s a show where people who’ve developed these relationships with someone online is taken to actually meet the person in real life. Sometimes the avatar definitely does not reflect reality. Interesting piece.

  36. Digital can be inspiring, daunting and challenging ~ It its for real, then it will work; if not, it’s all a circle, like ballet ~

    Love your work on the form too ~

  38. You hacking my email, Bjorn? *Winks* If this came out of your imagination, I have to say you’ve got a good grip on how it all works. I will share that at the beginning of the end of my marriage some 7 years ago, I was obsessed with this vision I had: My ex was in reality a totally different person than who I thought I married. A complete projection that came from me. When I unplugged my projector, so to speak, there wasn’t much there, a blank screen with some mean bits. In loneliness, I took refuge online late at night (in a game called Second Life, where a version of me with no health problems and never-frizzy hair could’ve had a harem of women). I had a 1+ year relationship as a result, and it was like testing the divorce hypothesis, because that person was, for sure, a complete figment of my imagination. When we met in person, the dissonance, the delta between my projection and his reality, was enormous. However, some things, some deep emotional connection allowed me to get right. Our romance wouldn’t survive that leap between realities, but we remain friends.
    Love, sex and romance online . . . is some level of hell in there, or Orwell’s room 101. It’s emotionally dangerous, but it can be as instructive, as self revealing as Freudian analysis. I learned alot. But now I fear, from a romance perspective, it is a wasteland of vulnerable lonely people feeding off each other, plus the predators who feed off them.

    Back to your poem, besides being insightful, it captures a moment in our cultural history. Well done.

  39. You have a way with forms. Well, the internet is a circle, no doubt giving in to the so called thought so harmless but well, you never know!

  40. …pretty scary how everything today has already their own virtual match… i don’t know what to feel if ever i will get a bionic son operated by a micro chip… or a daughter i feed & put to sleep via a pressable button like in a tamagochi…excellent piece Bjorn… loved it… smiles…

  41. Great use of form, and of Blake and Dante for inspiration. As for the internet, I’m a real fan of its easy access to information.

  42. Thought provoking piece. A virtual reality lover on the web of dreams. Blake’s picture illustrates out of its time the worldwide web and all the people connected to it. I have lots of Blake’s work but haven’t seen this painting before.

      • You assume right Bjorn. My power animal is a Tiger and hence the Avatar. It was painted by a friend of mine… since passed on. Tigerbrite is a character in my novel (not published) for which she was doing illustrations.
        I am a huge fan of Blake.

  44. I love how those first two lines grab you by the throat with their intensity and then as you unravel where this piece takes us, the thinness and lack of anything tangible in this online world takes us away from what is real.

  45. Alone with fake brunettes in a box made me laugh. Interesting poem dealing with a pertinent subject. The internet is a wonderful monster just like real life:)

  48. Dark and cynical and it speaks truth. Admire what you do with form. Online dating and friendships are challenging relationships to navigate regardless of the medium. A chatroom is no more ominous than a bar or speed dating.

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