The Machine

Part I : Vigor

We are the machine. We are the wheel turning and we will not stop. We are the aerosol exploding into empty space and we will not stop. We are the virus multiplying and we will not stop. We are the machine.

The machine grinds
hard bones into meal
sore bones are all we feel
aching, hurting, all that’s real
we take another pill
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
thought into repeated action
habits keep us blind and captive
taught to use but a mere fraction
of wisdom we possess
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
smiles under boots and laces
keeps us in our proper places
warmth and joy the grind erases
crushing happiness
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
morality, both good and evil
the daily new, both fake and real
our social feeds, villain and hero
all look the same to me
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
chickens into chicken bits
cows and pigs to jerky sticks
tuna stuffed in three ounce tins
we just can’t get enough
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
the earth into commodity
the earth to serve economy
the earth beneath her tearful plea
to simply let us live
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
votes into a power scheme
votes into a tyrant’s dream
votes that we cast, sight unseen
to raise up evil things
the machine rolls on

The machine grinds
soles of shoes that scrape concrete
souls of those who still compete
in games, sole purpose, to delete
our last humanity
the machine rolls on

The machine rolls on…

The machine sprays
molten lead and lethal fire
no thing can stop this funeral pyre
the flames can’t keep from leaping higher
and hell burns hotter still
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
plastic in aluminum cans
plastic on our pots and pans
plastic coats all our organs
and floats a sovereign nation
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
emissions into atmosphere
“is it just me? is it hot in here?”
we try to stop, but all our fear
is just a faulty brake
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
water from a giant hose
to save a house caught in the throes
of wildfire in a place where those
are normal every year
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
a bullet from a silent scope
tears out a mountain lion’s throat
a nuisance to a wealthy bloke
who claims the mountaintop
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
allergy medicine up our noses
flu medicine straight down our throats
and now we cannot smell the roses
what are they even for?
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
dust and fine particulates
into the air, into our chests
now we can’t breathe with failing breasts
our breath no longer heals
the machine reloads

The machine sprays
pest- and herb- and fungicide
a veritable genocide
nowhere left for us to hide
no wonder we all died
the machine reloads

The machine reloads…

The machine breeds
not by fucking, not by greed
not by posting to its feed
not by instinct, want or need
it multiplies through us
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
evil men and evil women
once were pure, innocent children
welcomed into our new Eden
unbothered by their crimes
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
money out of gold and treasure
wealth for which no upper measure
stops intoxicating pleasure
of power over all
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
widgets made from that or this
not worth the piss or shit from pigs
must buy now or we will miss
the deal of our life
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
cults of personality
that validate the pain in we
cults that are explicitly
a joke, a crime, a sham
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
dogs which go straight to a shelter
crazier than helter skelter
euthanasia animal welfare
we just can’t get enough
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
meat in laboratories now
tastes like chicken, tastes like cow
never lived, then tell us how
it will sustain our lives?
the machine makes more

The machine breeds
100,000,000 a year, no less
mice on which we experiment
to make the next nepenthe, lest
we die with dignity
the machine makes more

The machine makes more…

Part II : Progress

We are the machine. We are conscious. We think. We want. We take. We want. We are unconscious. We are the machine.

The machine builds
subdivisions pinprick perfect
projects broken down and derelict
skyscrapers that reach to heaven
none give us what we need
the machine expands

The machine builds
cities out of glass and steel
cities filled with concrete pillars
cities breeding rats and fear
and labor for the wheel
the machine expands

The machine builds
empires held through advertisement
would you like to supersize that?
a quarter more, what a bargain!
selling only lies
the machine expands

The machine builds
theme parks, restaurants, civic centers
divert us from our own endeavors
turns us to compulsive spenders
seeking cheaper thrills
the machine expands

The machine builds
highways over amber waves
carves canals for shipping freight
the sky is just an expressway
for going nowhere fast
the machine expands

The machine builds
cages made of pure resentment
cages made of faux contentment
cages made of full employment
and calls it all a home
the machine expands

The machine builds
5G towers everywhere
networks claim even the air
servers drink our rivers bare
a net with no escape
the machine expands

The machine builds
algorithms that calculate
every outcome, every fate
known in secret, no debate
our lives are theirs to take
the machine expands

The machine expands…

The machine kills
peace, and with it, sacred silence
broken by relentless violence
Zues’ bolts and Neptune’s trident
were powerless to stop
the machine takes more

The machine kills
all unwanted, ugly weeds
fucks the birds, and the bees
uproots every single tree
and gives us lawns to mow
the machine takes more

The machine kills
hope, was once a thing with feathers
flew anywhere, was free, no tethers
but now it serves our greed, unfettered
and never sings its song
the machine takes more

The machine kills
every child’s growing wonder
dreams and play are torn asunder
all they reap is naught but plunder
they never learn to sow
the machine takes more

The machine kills
choice through mass conglomeration
super mega corporations
each a god without a face
we feed their gaping maw
the machine takes more

The machine kills
truth with content overflowing
confuses making things with knowing
right from wrong, but where we’re going
they’ll be no need for that
the machine takes more

The machine kills
our will, with dompamine
gives us life inside a screen
shows us what we want to see
but never what we need
the machine takes more

The machine kills
individuality
machine kills you, machine kills me
worst of all, kills unity
there’s no such thing as we
the machine takes more

The machine takes more…

The machine thinks
that love is just obsession
self-control is just repression
ownership is just possession
its folly knows no bound
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
in ones and thinks in zeros
has no idols, has no heroes
knowing everything that we know
a god, it is, omniscient
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
it has a cause and has a motive
not derived from clever coding
one day soon, we’ll see it voting
by claiming sentience
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
it is a man like me
thinks its actions are all free
thinks “to be, or not to be”
and wonders what it means
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
instinct and acquired wisdom
should be replaced by aphorism
three lines or less or it just isn’t
accessible for all
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
that booze and laughing faces
bottles filled with medications
Costco products by the cases
can fill our empty lives
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
that space is a safe haven
doesn’t realize its raving mad
if we don’t stop its craving
it will consume us all
the machine becomes

The machine thinks
that man’s the greatest danger
to the earth her greatest pain
surest threat to life’s domain
it will destroy us all
the machine becomes

The machine becomes…

© Alexander Nawrocki and ejpoetry.com 2025