Mad Stampede

We didn’t sleep with open encyclopedias.
We didn’t sleep in Scott’s red phone booths.
We didn’t sleep by our rotary dial phones.

AI is a tool.
Cellphones are tools.
Unless we’re on call surgeons.
Unless we’re on call firefighters.

Carpenters don’t sleep with hammers.
Mechanics don’t sleep with wrenches.
Electricians don’t sleep with screwdrivers.
Plumbers don’t sleep with plungers.

The giants snare you with the latest,
The slimmest, the lightest, the fastest,
The coolest gadgets. For addiction.
For entertainment. For memory loss.
Of the stagnant minimum wage.
Of the ever-widening payment gaps.
Of being slaves to the 10%
Who are moving to space.

But you continue to camp out for Black Fridays,
(Or stay online, stay awake in front of the screen,
Saving the store staff’s lives from the mad stampede!)
MLJ12082026MadStampedeOfSlaves