We have the choice of so many media
there's no excuse for being bored
yet youngsters moan "There's nothing to do here . ."
 - better amused than ever before !

What we want most is just entertainment,
something to entertain our minds -
clothes for the king, invisible raiment,
no matter it deceives or blinds:

too many papers, too many pages,
too many glossy magazines;
too many programmes aired on the wireless,
too many channels on TV;

not enough news to fill all the spaces,
not enough facts to inform views,
not enough people wanting to progress
but loads of dross from which to choose -

journalists seeking prize-winning inches,
columnists needing new ideas,
cameramen chasing passionate clinches
(editors' circulation fears!).

But for the peasants tending their livestock,
fetching the water, weeding fields,
what do they think of watching the sun-clock
hour after hour till daylight yields?

What do they think of during the darkness,
chores all completed, free to muse ?
No entertainment centre to access,
probably not even numbing booze !

How do they manage minus presenters,
make-over experts, fashion tips,
new revelations daring the censors,
interview sound bites, image clips ?

Might they just notice nature more often
rather than crass consumer goods ?
Might they just pay their old folk attention,
play with their children in the woods ?

Or do they just create superstition
(something to occupy their minds)
fairies and ghosts or even religion -
imagination of all kinds ?

Once started up our brains don't stop humming,
fuelled by language, never still;
even in sleep our dreams just keep coming;
blanking out thought is beyond our will.

We are all evolution's last victims
plagued by our brains and language skill,
peak of mutation's random bizarre whims,
ultimate unsuccessful frill !

As with the physical, so with the mental -
nature abhors a vacuum:
pity we try to make life too gentle
using hot air like opium !