sur·veil·lance

“What Are You Looking At?”, Banksy

Today is the last day of April and the last day of na·po·mo 2013. We have a double-decker day with one poem now and one poem later in the day. Our first poem today is by Logan Dirtyverbs. Enjoy!

sur·veil·lance,  n.  [Fr.  <  surveiller, to watch over; sur- ( < L. super), over + veiller  < L. vigilare, to watch],  1.  watch or observation kept over a person, especially one under suspicion or a prisoner.  2. supervision or inspection.

TO NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY
 

a legible surveillance disclaimer
TO OBSERVE WITH INTENT
a distinct whine in blue sky
TO NOTICE AGGRESSIVELY
where drones roam freely
TO ACTIVELY TAKE NOTE
soon drones will keep quiet
TO KEEP CLOSE WATCH
a more convenient freedom
TO INTERCEPT PREEMPTIVELY
the windchime sounds unstable
TO ASCERTAIN CULPABILITY
the bee conducts search flower-by-flower
TO AGGREGATE EFFICIENTLY
a swarm of self-directing drones
TO SECURE THE HOMELAND
an obtuse infestation of bugs
TO PHOTOGRAPH PUBLIC SPACES
a budding nest of security cameras
TO TRANSMIT ELECTRONICALLY
the trains of thought in choreography
TO IRREVOCABLY CONNECT DOTS
a gold rush of data mining geology
TO PRACTICE NONADMISSION
a twenty twenty all aerial eyesight
TO UNMAN AERIAL SYSTEMS
an officious and casual voyeurism
TO SPEAK FREELY IN PUBLIC
a vain culture easiest to surveil
TO SEARCH FOR IDENTITY
a watched society most secure
TO ASSOCIATE WITH OTHERS
social media a great diy fbi fyi
TO KNOW THE LATEST
a clear evolutionary craving
TO SEE AND BE UNSEEN
knowing what others are doing
TO RECOGNIZE THE FACES
security for whom & by whom
TO AUTOMATE REDACTION
certain cannot be used
TO SPEAK SUSPICIOUSLY
prison regulates unemployment
TO WAGE WAR ON FEAR
war a fantastic job creator
TO TRIGGER WORDS
self-surveillance smaller govt
TO POLICE STATE SECRET
the alibi sousveillance hobby
TO THREATEN PRIVACY
policing the self in private
TO USE DANGEROUS SPEECH
a homegrown wet orwellian orgasm
TO STATE & PLAUSIBLY DENY
or what do you have to hide anyway
TO JUST ASK A FEW QUESTIONS
you don’t know what you have to hide
TO AGREE TO TERMS & CONDITIONS
until it has been finally found
TO PLEASE SIGN HERE
x___________________________

Photo by Trish Santangelo

 
logan dirtyverbs is a bilingual poet, performer and dj based in tucson, az. to see more of his work, check out: dirtyverbs.com and @dirtyverbs on twitter.