Subliminal DTs
In the gym each week
On many of the
Machines –
The bikes,
The treadmills
And others,
There were t.v.
Screens.
The pop videos
To make folk feel
Unkempt or fat,
In need more
Of plastic surgery
Than the gym.
II
But when he
Goes there,
He turns the
Screens off.
And so it is,
That in front
Of him,
Is only
The room
Behind,
Reflected in
Shades of
Dark and
Lurid purple,
Mixed with
Mauve.
III
Switching off,
Surely he’s immune
From the
Influence of being
Told that this
Is the way to be,
This is the
Way to look,
And this is
What you
Want?
IV
Yet later,
In front
Of another screen
A computer screen,
There he is,
Feverishly
Looking through
eBay, for
Purple glass,
Anything with
Purple glass,
Like a drug,
Until –
He stops to think.
The power of the
T.v. screen –
Surely it can’t
Be – the purple
Reflections
On the blank
T.v. screens
Of the gym?!
V
They say the
Kids in the
Amazon used to
Fish and swim,
But now they
Have MTV,
They sit and
Stare, dreaming
Of crossing
The border
To the north.
VI
If we don’t
Want the
‘Under developed’
World to come
Knocking on the door,
Why did we
Sell them
Coca Cola
For fuck’s sake?
‘It’s not the drink
They were seeing
In the ad, it was the
Jeans, the motorbike,
The cafes, the
Hairstyles…the
Way of life.’
For which read health
And wealth,
And excitement.
VII
What they never saw
Was everything
That comes with it,
But why would we
Show them that,
When we don’t
Want to
Know, ourselves?