War on Self-obsession

To-day we have how to post on Instagram. Yesterday,

We had pretending to have a diagnosis. And to-morrow morning,

We shall have how to be intrusive. But to-day,

To-day we have how to post on Instagram. The make-up

Is smeared on the pillow, like an abstract painting,

       And to-day we have how to post on Instagram.

This is the like button. And this

Is the upload button, whose use you will see,

When you've chosen the best filter. And this is the number of likes,

Which in your case you have not got. The sadness

Lures in the sensible self-perception

       Which in your case you have not got

This is the follow button, which is always activated

With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me

See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy

If you have not got any self-control. The pretty ones

Are looking at pictures, and no one will ever see

       Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the filter selection. The purpose of this

Is to get more likes, as you see. We can apply them

To anything not as pretty as it could be: we call this

Easing the pain of lack of likes. To anything not as pretty as it could be

Do not fall into the game of facade

        They call it easing the pain of lack of likes.

They call it easing the pain of lack of likes: it is perfectly easy

If you have not got any self-control: like the ones

Who do not care about any of it, who have self respect

Which in your case you have not got: and anything not as pretty as it could be

Pretending not to care but failing at it

       For to-day we have how to post on Instagram.

A Trip to Copenhagen

A Trip to Copenhagen

In the afternoon I stepped out of the bus and into the streets of Copenhagen. My first though was that it was a scene taken right out of the Hunger Games. As I walked through the streets, I could hear conversations from the many people around me. “He is just the worst, such a douchebag!” “He really is”  “And he just treats me so bad” “It's so good that you got rid of him”“really!” “but I just have to” “there is nothing you HAVE to do”. These teenage girls sat talking about this young douchebag while eating their Cheasy skyr. Behind them I saw doves fighting for leftovers from the Burger King around the corner, where people were lining up in front of an elevator that was out of order. Further down one of the smaller streets a child riding a bike could be heard yelling “Look at me, look at me, I’m doing it!”, until the bicycle chain broke and the enthusiasm turned into crying. Some teenagers walked past her while discussing one of the girls’ broken nail, when suddenly a boy ran past them shouting “shotgun!”. On one side of the street, the local grocery store had put out spring onions, red onions and red potatoes, showcasing healthy living with Kennedy’s Irish Bar catching an early start on the other side of the street with Blackbird by Beatles on the speakers. Ironic. As I looked at the people there I saw everyone looking as if they were guarding their own personal ships as if they were all Jack Sparrow on the Black Pearl hanging onto their anchors in failed attempts to stay grounded. There at the end of the street was a stop sign, it was a dead end, but I was on foot, so I decided I would just keep going. If we had just stuck to walking there would be more than simply one way to choose on this earth. As I walked down all the roads I desired, the sun was starting to set over Copenhagen, and the darker it got, the more I wondered where the starry night had gone. Maybe it disappeared in pollution.

Hills Like White Elephants 

They do not agree upon what is going to happen

Although he thinks that they do

She realises that she is trapped in

A relationship that has nowhere to go

She clearly loves one more than the other

He is too dumb to see

Or maybe he just cannot bother

But she knows who it is going to be

They drink away their troubles

Although her troubles stay

Her suggestions however are subtle

So his ideas will not go away

Their ways will maybe part

Although his solution may seem elegant

When he realises what is really in her heart

There might not be any white elephants

One of the Paintings on His Wall

I had heard about him and his duchesses, it was something that was not really talked about among the people around me, except by the people we had working for us. So I knew that I should fear him and watch out for myself, but I did not know how fast it would all happen. When my father and that appalling man had made a deal about me we were married and I was quickly moved into his manor, and then everything went wrong. I was under surveillance at all times, and every time I did something that he did not like, he would call for me and punish me in the most unspeakable ways. One time he had me stand outside in the rain for twelve hours in only my undergarments. And that was one of the least horrible things he could think of. The times when he locked himself into my chamber in the middle of the night, those were the worst.

Anything could upset him. I tried to avoid all contact with the male servants, as it seemed to make him most angry when I interacted with other men. Even just making eye contact with a man or smiling out of politeness would make the horrible man go mad. Also the times when I tried to escape made him furious. One of the times I made it as far as outside the manor before I was caught. I knew that it was dangerous and that the chances of succeeding with my escape were minimal, but I felt like I had to try. Even though I also knew that my life would be just as hard if I actually got away, because then he would search for me and have the whole town search for me too. After that last attempt of escaping, I was punished as usual, and then my portrait was painted. At first I thought it odd, but then I remembered the stories about the other ones. Rumour had it that he had paintings of all of his previous duchesses up in his art collection, only they were concealed behind curtains, so no one knew just how many duchesses there had been. When I sat there before the painter, I knew that it would all soon be over, and I felt a mixture of grief and relief. I was going to become one of the paintings on his wall soon.

He had his male servants kill me, and I think he thought that he was punishing me by having these particular men do it. He thought that I was unfaithful with those men, even though I had never really spoken with any of them. He could see it in my eyes and in the way that I smiled at them, he said. But now that it is all over, only relief is left in me. I only feel for the duchess to come, as I am sure that this horrible man will never be cured from his madness. He probably already had a plan for how he will kill the next one, before I was gone.

Out came car

Out came deer

Deer run far

Deer stop here

Out came car

Car has brakes

Brakes not thrilled

Despite driver shakes

No deer killed

Away went deer

Deer went far

Driver drank beer

Farther went car

Light turned red

Driver too drunk

Child right ahead

Car said clunk

Child was only five

Don't drink and drive