POP-UPS: A Poem by J.Patrick Lewis

My friend J. Patrick Lewis was kind enough to send me this poem he wrote to share with you on Poetry Friday.

Pop-ups

By J. Patrick Lewis

“The best minds of my generation
are thinking about how to make
people click ads.”
Bloomsburg Business Week


I was reading The Atlantic—
“What's Pedantic? What's Semantic?”—
When the screen began its frantic
     Blinking, and it wouldn’t stop.


Something mindless—Would I like a
Lesson on a balalaika?
Granite, laminate, formica—
     Your Home Depot, where to shop.


So I found myself star-gazing
At New Yorker verse—amazing,
That impenetrable phrasing,
     When it started up again:


Monitor beamed up more folly,
Try a Taco Bell tamale.
In the toolbar, Hello, Dolly
     (Dolly’s a Parisienne).


Potash—wonder cure for cancer.
Morgan Stanley has the answer.
Find your inner belly dancer—
     Click on Rock and Roll, and scroll.


Oh, if only some inventor
Could defeat this shopping center
With a Pop-ups Dare Not Enter
     Virtual Finger Whack-a-Mole.

© J. Patrick Lewis. All rights reserved