Brave New World

How easy it’s become to cross the sea–
To visit lands with foreign flags unfurled.
The web connects Japan to Sicily,
And knowledge travels quickly ’round the world.
Oh, age of unsurpassed technology!
You’ve made our globe a place where all is swirled.
[When not subjected to our foul abuse,
You’ve served with tools of nearly boundless use.]

…
With modern tech, celebs can swiftly share
Selected priceless moments with a crowd
Of millions of adoring fans who care
A lot about and feel sincerely proud
Of novel ways a star has styled her hair.
The shrines where ancient worshipers once bowed
Have given up their place without regret
To profile pages on the internet.
…
Celebrities from days of early date,
I wish you lived to see how things are now.
Who knew what hat was worn on Milton’s pate?
Who knew when Francis Bacon waxed his brow?
[Men* lived when news required a longer wait,
but thinking folks must surely wonder how!]
If only Shakespeare had a profile page,
We’d know about his actions off the stage.

*Iambic pentameter and political correctness do not get along.
…
Imagine! Brilliant Michelangelo
Would post a pic of what he had for lunch.
Adoring fans would be the first to know
If Mikey’s meal was soft or apt to crunch.
I’d like to think a later post would show
His fav’rite types of whiskey, wine, and punch.
A single finger’s touch or mouse’s click
Would lead to Mikey’s latest glamour pic.

Selections from *The New House Fame* by Paul “Whitberg” Burgess

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“Going Viral” a short story by Paul Burgess

My first shot at writing prose fiction! [In response to prompts found here:  http://boundariesandedges.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/try-this-the-alphabet-exercise/

http://mbarkersimpson.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/try-this-the-alphabet-exercise/

“Going Viral” A Short Story by Paul Burgess
After a few months, he would laugh nervously about that day’s events.
But, when people mentioned the incident, he continued to feel a mixture of shame and anger.
“Could they stop bringing it up?”
“Did they have to videotape it?”
Events like this used to entertain him when he saw them on the internet.
Facebook and YouTube, however, had now become his enemies.

Going back to school terrified him.
How would he endure the merciless teasing of classmates who’d had an entire summer to hone their jokes about him?
If only his family would not have posted the video all over the internet…
Just thinking about his parents made him alternate between gritting his teeth and clutching his stomach.
“Killing them might be justifiable,” said a half-serious voice no one else heard.
“Let go of that thought,” a wiser voice advised.

Monkeys continued to haunt his dreams.
No night seemed to pass without those hairy hands caressing his cheeks.
Orangutans watched with gazes expressing amused approval.
“Primates, why do you torment me?”
Quinton often woke to find himself panting while repeating that phrase.

“Rape” would be too strong a word to describe what he’d endured…
To get a good picture, Quinton held his phone with one hand that he pushed between the cage’s bars.
Using his phone’s high-resolution camera, he captured dozens of excellent photos.
“Vern, are you filming this?” his mom asked his dad.
What happened next, when Quinton tried to pull his arm back through the bars, gave him the shock of his young life.
Xavier, the monkey, grabbed his arm, pulled him close, stared deeply into his eyes, and then—before releasing him—kissed his lips for what seemed like ages.
“YouTube will love this!” exclaimed his dad.
“Zoo Trip, featuring Quinton Craig” went viral.

 “Likest Thou My Facebook Post” A Shakespearean Sonnet by Paul Burgess

 

“Likest Thou My Facebook Post” A Shakespearean Sonnet by Paul Burgess [who’s finally put his M.A. in Renaissance Studies to use;)]

Remember now, while resting in thy seat,
How friends who hath the fame of being true
Inform themselves of what their friend doth eat
And sundry other things that friend might do.
Perforce thou needest soon that “Like” to click
If in thee doth a mote of mercy live.
For seconds, as if swords, my heart now prick
Whilst wait I for what’s only thine to give—
A “Like” to say thy care for me is great,
As care that hath a holy man for God,
When showing care of thine for my update
By clicking that’s akin to heads that nod.
If likest thou not my new Facebook post,
Of myself, anon, I’ll make a ghastly ghost.