"For The Camera"

be a model
or just look like one,
your every passing moment
is immortalized forever
for security purposes

try the shirt on - for the camera
check the mirror - for the camera
make it pretty - for the camera
and smile

everywhere you go the satellite
can see the color of your eyes
and everywhere you drive
the CIA can read your license plate

you think that you're alone,
well maybe sometimes you're alone
but then you never really know
so just be sure you're looking great

fix your makeup - for the camera
kiss your darling - for the camera
look excited - for the camera
and smile

draw the curtain - for the camera
take your clothes off - for the camera
turn the light out - for the camera
and smile

every moment of your life
somewhere, somebody will rewind it
and replay it super slow-mo
with an eye toward form and content

and you think that you're alone
well maybe sometimes you're alone
but then you never really know
so just make sure you look innocent

bear your children - for the camera
wide and open - for the camera
make it pretty - for the camera
and smile

check the mirror - for the camera
fake expressions - for the camera
look convincing - for the camera
and smile

break the window - for the camera
look defiant - for the camera
make it pretty - for the camera
and smile

paranoia - for the camera
look around you - for the camera
feel much better - for the camera
and smile

for the camera

Comments

jill said…
Nice one. That's everyday life and everyday thinking for some people. Never a moment to just breathe and just be. Still, surely there are some private spaces, like showers or dressing rooms where it's okay if "a stray hair hangs out of place". :p

Reading this made me wonder a bit about my sense of self. Words might just have power. :D
dogimo said…
Thanks!

That's an old one. A classic!

I should update it maybe. It should be "and everywhere you drive, Google Earth can read your license plate..."

:-D
jill said…
Made me laugh! Google Earth <3
Maybe we'll have cameras on every street corner because it's already out in public and it's not like I'm entitled to privacy out there. Might be worth it. Might end up with a drastic decline in kidnapping. lol
Jen said…
Great poem.

I pity the fool who has to go over all those tapes. And in slo-mo?
dogimo said…
@jill - I keep expecting to see the online headline "Burglar caught in the act - via Satellite!" - somebody wrongdoing and getting ID'd from the Google street view. It's bound to happen eventually!

@Jen - Thanks! It's a song in fact! But I guess, stripped of music, it qualifies as poem. I think that some aspects of the song are a commentary on Big Brother, others touch on attitudes people have towards being watched from...the beyond. It's an all-purpose paranoia.