When we look back at this time in history, it will be evident that reductionism didn’t work.

By cutting our aspirations into 140- or 280-character fragments to get them out the door faster and more furiously, we’ve disarticulated our plans to build a better future. By overdistilling our intentions to fit inside text boxes for newsfeeds, we’ve sacrificed our souls for spontaneity.

We’ve seen effects of fast food culture on our bodies, now glimpse its outcome on our minds. How they race. Every human in the race. This churn only produces chum. We have atrophied our index fingers, dystrophied our…

Mutual Assured Delusional Forecast: The Art of the Nonstick Facebook Post
by Wampanoag Sparklepony 2.0
© Matt LeClair 2020

---------- Forwarded message ---------
HEERIYE, HEERIYE,

I hearby call for a last-minute Principlification Amendment to officially add our previous dangling principle, Consent, and our new dangling principle, Interconnectedness, to our list of Principles. Only one dangler at a time, gals.

11. CONSENT
12. INTERCONNECTEDNESS

All in favor say “mreh”.

kthxbyeeee!

P.S.: Immediacy is just Non-Attachment. You guys stole that from Buddhism, but that’s OK. Let’s make sure we don’t add “Grifting” to our list of demands!

P.P.S.: Nevermind, I take it…

Mile 56
© Matt LeClair 2020

I am running down the center of a road.
I feel balanced. It feels good,
but it’s Summer and I’m running out of ice.
This is mile marker fifty-six
in the Chinese Virus Ultramarathon.

I killed a moth today, oh boy.
Just an unlucky one who landed here.
I read in the news that now
life is the leading cause of death.

It is Spring again and the skies are radioactive azul. Dr. Manhattan calmly issues prophecies from Mars, proclaiming a universal lack of guarantees in life. Based on the way I see people…

Achtung Child
© Matt LeClair 2020

Attention please, attention.
Please gather now for this moment of silence.
We take moments of silence to honor the lives we have lost
as you take these moments to silence our honored survivors.

These deaths have come to us at such great cost,
for there is heavy burden in the wheelbarrowing.
We’ve all lost from this and perhaps the worst and most perplexing
is to have lost what we will never have, years of flourishing pain and piano.
The dead cannot weep for the living. So we shall weep for our dead.
If you won’t declare our National Day of Mourning,
then we will take the first Tuesday in November
and mourn with our vote.

Originally published at http://www.defaultmode.net on July 27, 2020.

MOTH OUTBREAK
By Dr. Wampa
© Matt LeClair 2020

During the latest moth outbreak
I’ve been stuck here at home, just me, myself, and my turtle.
As I assess our blissed-out collective shared state of covidity,
I’m bumping my mariokart into kids in the halls of the web
and working 19-hour days and feeding myself rituals
exercised every eleven years exactly. Or was it seven?
Shoryuken, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, Hadouken.
A lot of in-fighting, like in fighting
for controllers. FIIIGHT!

This is Pandora, a World Like No Other. “No, this is house!” arms crossed in a huff. This is repurposed scripture…

The Past is an Addict
(A Battle Cry)
by Darktor Suess
© Matt LeClair 2020

Your past is the addict who draws on your blood.
Nations defining priorities fading, spending our savings,
we’re dining on mud
covered newspages, acing the bases,
filling the willing stoned lone in glass cases,
twisting the lemon while holding our noses,
snowcones enticing kids into cages,
emotion is gasping and airing out grievances
America is riddled in long lists of sins,
these are a few of our least favorite wins.

Wrinkled Juul faces covered in guiles, lightning dividing the heartland for miles, assunder we render…