2. A Compilation of Poems
Poets & Hackers
by
Ajay Ohri
&
James Kobielus

3. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the author.
© Ajay Ohri James Kobielus
Published by
Ajay Ohri James Kobielus
ohri2007@gmail.com
Powered by
Pothi.com
http://pothi.com

4. Ajay Ohri
Ajay Ohri writes dreadful poetry despite editors in
India asking him to write the next Harry Puttar. He
has been writing terrible poetry and inflicting pain
since ten years now. His first two ebooks are also
available if you just use Google
James Kobielus
James Kobielus tinkers with thoughts and words.
He’s been tinkering since he was a wee one. He
tinkers with technology full time, and the poetry is
his tinker engine breathing its own exhaust.

5. Foreword
So here we are, we technologists. We industry analysts. We
data gatherers, living in our left brains and rarely leaving
our houses. As grim economic news and world events beat
at our doors, we hunker down in our rational worlds, letting
our logic keep us warm and rationing our creative juices.
This is exactly the time we need to read poetry. To fortify
us and bring us back into the light.
Ajay Ohri, impresario of this refreshing volume, manages
to merge the science of words with the mysteries of life.
He asks us to enter into the realm of ideas and leave our
spreadsheets behind—or at least reconsider them. Ajay’s
poems ask questions. They’re fun. Likewise Jim Kobielus
blends the meaningful and the mundane into a literary
bouillabaisse that is the sum of its spicy parts.
The poet Jack Gilbert wrote that “We must have the
stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace
of the world.” I for one like the idea that poetry can make us
happier. We can return to poetry as if it was a good friend.
Perhaps we haven’t seen her for a long time, but we pour a

6. Poets Hackers
glass of wine and pick up where we left off. We’re refreshed.
We’re happier. We wonder why we waited so long.
Give a poetry book as a gift. Read poems to your children.
Write a poem when you’re confounded by a problem you
need to step back from and see anew. Re-read a poem you
memorized in school. Craft a poem to get a girl. Sing a poem
out loud. Give a poetry book as a gift.
How about this one?
—Jill Dyché

7. Contents
Poems by Ajay Ohri
a. Reflections
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Ethics of a Spy 11
Après la Nuit 15
Too Much 17
Delay Deny Obfuscate 19
The Years 21
b. Perceptions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Colour 23
Getting on Your Nerves 25
Normal is Boring 27
Why Are We Creative? 29
Trap 31
Machine Addictions 33
c. Love
1.
2.
3.
4.
Romancing Social Media 35
oh Date Night 37
Used to Be 39
The Fine Print 43

8. Poets Hackers
d. Tribute
1.
2.
3.
4.
This Is It 45
Ode to an i-Pod 47
Dear Mother 49
Baby Boy 51
e. Expressions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I Need More Data to Make a Decision 53
A Poet’s Life 57
Every Revolution Needs a Poet 61
My Stupid Poetry 63
Terrorist Brother 65
f. Outpourings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Julian Assange Dear Chap 69
My Friend --The Computer 71
Slum Dogs Come 73
American Tie 75
On Demand 77

9. Contents
Poems by James Kobielus
a. Ruminations
Catastrophe’s Apostrophe 81
Cork 85
Crunchy Analytic 87
Character 89
Chat 91
Chemical Water 93
b. Impressions
Continuous Relaxing Favorites 95
Carbon Fourteen 97
Carl Sagan 99
Chickahominy 101
Churchgoing 105
Credits 106

10. Poets Hackers
10

11. a. Reflections
The Ethics of a Spy
(Dedicated to all intelligence agencies in the world –.
all of them except those that kill their own countrymen)
The ethics of a spy
is never to question why
Instead pause and wait
Act now, before it’s too late.
We wait and watch
with the worst kind of homo sapiens,
Hoping our soul is not as corrupted
We’re the watchers, the perpetual legal aliens …
The ethics of a cop
is to find who’s done it or stop,
But the ethics of a spy
is to act now before people die
The Flotilla 13, The Alpha Team, The Seals, The Cobras
We’re all brothers from other mothers,
We destroy our souls
To save humanity
Every man we killed
Haunts us in our dreams,
Every woman we loved
was the one and true love it seems;
Those who live by the sword
Shall die by the sword,
But if that’s an excuse for not doing
11

12. Poets Hackers
Then you must be a bigger fool,
The ethics of a spy
is never to ask why
But to find and search,
Protect the sheep from stumbling in the dark
And when it’s all over
The lucky ones already dead
Old spies never die
Just wait for another ‘op’ till the end.
12

14. Poets Hackers
14

15. Reflections
Après la Nuit
Lying on the couch half-awake
Half-sleepy from last night’s celebration,
Thinking unsteadily in slow motion …
Maybe I’m getting too old for inebriation
Still yesterday was a great day,
We fought and celebrated a glorious win after long
Hard work coupled with some luck
Always leaves you humming a sweet song …
I idly check my mails, surf my social web
The net is quiet …
As if, it too, celebrated a lot last night
But check on it, it will be partying by evening
Now tasks have to be done
Daily chores yet to be begun
So shake off the idleness like a shaggy wet dog
Prepare to carpe diem; ready get set
Still, an idle shrug and an occasional yawn
Remind aging bones to rest before dawn.
15

16. Poets Hackers
16

17. Reflections
Too Much
To read to ponder
So much more this Earth in wonder,
To work to sweat
Finish tasks before deadline regret.
To relax to ease
Recharge, renew fresh surge release,
To family, to friend
Share joys daily comprehend.
To move to ride
Swallow obstacle uncertainty ego pride,
To pause to cease
Total losses bandage hurt elbow knees.
To write to express
Thoughts tightly word compress,
To all to none
End this poem fresh one begun.
To die to sleep
Deep secret beneath shut eyelid keep,
To live be awake
Eyes open wide much more beauty to partake.
17

18. Poets Hackers
18

19. Reflections
Delay Deny Obfuscate
Delay
Delay, deny, obfuscate
Remember all the promises you break
And all the love you fake
Ain’t no piece of cake!
Even though the oaths you take
Became lines in sand that you stake,
Cleaning the leaves of time you rake
Much depends on the choices you make.
Going on anon till this rhythm I must break
Sometimes you know when it’s too much to take;
Mourning now in your personal life’s wake
You earned this trip to the melancholy lake.
How much more, how long till you break?
Confess your appearances are fake,
You let never anyone, except your ego to partake
On your thirst for glory to slake.
Delay, deny, obfuscate
Delude spin and permeate
Love is good and addictive but so is hate
Much depends on what all you rate.
Fear, uncertainty, doubt and cloud
Are your companions most profound
Is it just today or Were you always this loud?
19

20. Poets Hackers
20

21. Reflections
The Years
Sixteen years since I left high school
Sixteen years to when I was both: hot and very cool;
Sixteen years to when the world was open with possibilities
Sixteen years to a contender could have been.
Twelve years to since I left university school
Twelve years to when I had so much fun;
Twelve years to being young and free,
Twelve years pass oh! so quickly.
Eight years since I met my match,
Eight years to my heart getting a patch,
Eight years since we met that day,
Eight years since who else could we have been otherwise?
Two years since we said goodbye
Two years since we exchanged sighs and cried,
Two more years and then we will be done
Heartbreaks over let’s restart the fun.
21

22. Poets Hackers
22

23. b. Perceptions
Colour
Once in a blue moon
You may experience a black day,
Out of the blue
Plans and your blueprints may falter.
Your blue blood is no longer a guarantee
For continued red carpets and
Being born to the purple no cure
For never feeling blue!
You may turn pale, show a yellow liver,
You may be caught in an area so grey,
Your face grows red in surprise,
Your friends declare you an elephant white.
Your friendship terminated without a pink slip,
A black sheep, with the balance sheet in red
Wait till it snows
For white Christmas to come,
For the white lies to fade
Soon spring will be here
Greener pastures, still waters beckon
To a world of colour, not just black and white!
23

24. Poets Hackers
24

25. Perceptions
Getting on Your Nerves
This is too much and that was out of line
Some people get on your nerves
Like a frisky cat playing with twine.
Manipulating perception, you say is okay
Disregarding your intelligence is not
Relentless selling of crap in turf wars fiercely fought.
The brave new world has all kinds of fair games
The world was always a stage
But with so many actors things won’t remain the
same…
Enhanced volatility higher risks greater rewards
Loud is the applause when you deliver the keynote
Louder will be the jeers when proud men fall.
Lions hunt better but hyenas feed better
Because hyenas are better team players, you see
Beyond agony of uncertainty to succeed is ecstasy!
Relax rewind recalibrate and pause,
Total up your material gains
Ignore your conscience costs.
Snap and turn, go back to your comfort zone
Stories sell better
Poetry is a drone!
25

26. Poets Hackers
26

27. Perceptions
Normal is Boring
Normal is boring
We must all innovate,
If we can’t create something new
Rewind, re-churn, regurgitate!
Spawn some spin
Jingle some buzz and hype,
We fight with the weapons the Lord gave us
Our fingers rapidly type.
Till we move to read, to scavenge
Pluck once more some idea from obscurity,
Cannot beat them so join them
Cajole our creative insecurity.
We do influence swaps
Trade favor in a game,
The more things we say have changed
The harder we try to make sure they remain the same!
Normal is boring yet undeniable
Bell-shaped curves pretty reliable;
Pause and think, breathe and blink
Gasp and swallow the daily load to drink.
Mundane and boring, reminiscently storing
Differentiating for the sake of
Creating a better mouse trap someday,
Today we innovate, tomorrow we fade ….
27

28. Poets Hackers
28

29. Perceptions
Why Are We Creative ?
Root cause of creativity
is most often the necessity
to improvise and move on ahead.
Often it’s a matter of butter and bread
Sometimes it’s just a whimsical
impulse created out of sheer boredom.
Dissatisfaction with the prevailing status quo
may lead to bursts of creativity
For me and you!
Modern scientists say creativity
is affected by the serotonin in your brain
I think it’s simpler, a desire to break out of mundane
daily pain!
29

30. Poets Hackers
30

31. Perceptions
Trap
Honey trap, cougar prowl
Money lucre, gourmet bowl
The Seven Sins and Ten Commandments brawl
Perpetual struggle, the winner takes all
Red Team go, Blue Team on standby,
White goes on top, Black falls back for a future try.
Attack, parry, defend and stall,
Please enjoy this ongoing brawl.
Perpetual is the struggle, the good versus the bad
Sith versus Jedi, happy versus sad!
Push those buttons, men are like machines
When prompted and guided, old or teens.
The perfect storm or the prefect trap
Show goes on, curtain falls, all stand, clap.
31

32. Poets Hackers
32

33. Perceptions
Machine Addictions
In the middle of essential and inevitable tasks
Restless inner conscience awakens and asks,
Stuck again today to the computer, are we now?
Please remind me, this state we reached how?
Oh! We had bills to pay; student loans to repay;
Once we got hooked it was easy to be carried away,
Just a matter of time before inevitable voices query,
This is the machine that I want to marry!
I spend more time with her as it is,
The machinery is devoted with focused loyalties,
Meanwhile the non-mechanical world goes around
Strives forth on things less profound.
As we stroke the keys and click the mouse,
Machine addictions will only add to human grouse!
33

34. Poets Hackers
34

35. c. Love
Romancing Social Media
I tried I sighed I almost cried
Sent her Facebook messages till I almost died!
An impossible force my passion for her
Her immovable demeanor beneath her icy side …
When fire meets ice there will be blood,
Intoxicating romance leading to tearful flood
But that’s a square dance we date and dance
For loving and living always gives a second chance …
35

36. Poets Hackers
36

37. Love
oh Date Night
We met in a random eating place like Panera Bread
Over tea hot and cold,
Instead of eating we headed home
Thawed microwaved frozen food
Had some white Californian wine
On the tree shaded balcony we dined.
Inside the conversation turns warm and nice,
Dance the salsa and enjoy the fleeting moment twice
Till the moment strikes some magic
We create art, create till its comic tragic,
In the bright light of dim shaded light,
We try to love and forget our fight.
All too soon
Time to go home,
Snap back to reality and stop some,
With a future promise and maybe
Dance again
Sometime, sure call me!!
37

38. Poets Hackers
38

39. Love
Used to Be
It used to be
I would wake myself
Looking forward to what
the day would bring …
It’s now the case
That each and every day
Takes more
Than it can bring!
My head is full of noises
That I try not to hear,
When I close my eyes
Memories show me what could’ve been …
My hands are numb, my back is sore,
My legs refuse to move
I rub my face, scratch my head
But it’s too late even for me!
There are no pills for heart ache
Let alone a cure to be found
Noises in my head are silent,
Eardrums pounded by droning sound.
Used to be
We sit together in silence
Having a profound conversation
Used to be …
39

40. Poets Hackers
Now we sit apart in anger
Alone in our wonder of
What use it could be...
40

42. Poets Hackers
42

43. Love
The Fine Print
Did you read the fine print
when you signed your life away?
Or did you believe them badly
When they said your life was good to give today.
Did all the drums, the ribbons and the music
Tilt your head to emotion away from fact,
And was the inherent absurdity of it all
Swallowed by you intact?
For as the world spins tilted
Around the bright unforgiving sun,
Words in a language built to deceive
Mask the coming pain below the frosting of fun.
Deception is the game here
An unwilling player you have to be,
Fool them or be fooled in turn
Reality is spotless for you to see.
What old promises
were tokens of love,
It’s all ‘cash and carry’ now
As willed in your destiny from above!
And even though eyes grow misty
By thought of what could be,
You keep one eye on the rolling ball
Lest more surprises it brings to see!
43

44. Poets Hackers
44

45. d. Tribute
This Is It
(In honour of his music and release of ‘This Is It’,
a re-hash poem written when Michael Jackson died. His music lives on …)
Goodbye Mike!
Goodbye, King of Pop! Adios!
An entertainer’s entertaining has come to stop
Moonwalking gloved and much beloved,
Band of brothers five and Janet’s too
Dad of three and husband of two.
Thriller was off the wall
Music videos were so addictive,
Almost Dangerous and Bad
Almost making Unbreakable History,
Before fading suddenly and plastically aging
Paparazzi and unproven dark shadows chasing.
Well then Mr. Death is the only cure
To the fishbowl We The World,
We put you in hoping for one last toe straight spin
Knowing Michael, entertain heaven above
Pearly gates await the one with white glove
Duet with Elvis and dance with Diana
Be a kid like the way you always wanna ...
45

46. Poets Hackers
46

47. Tribute
Ode to an i-Pod
Day before yesterday,
my younger brother
gifted me an i-pod
for my 31st birthday.
And now I’m in love,
Life a gift from heaven above,
with the smooth i-pod
in her little black dress!
The sound is good, the design cool,
Thirty-one years it took me to realize I’m a fool!
Why I didn’t buy an i-pod before?
Why I didn’t visit the i-tunes store?
And my friend Billy Joel sings
his heart out on silvery i-pod wings,
I rotate the dial a bit,
The songs are old, but they are still a hit.
Now maybe I’m old and getting older still,
but the i-pod classic still gives my heart a thrill!
What’s your excuse mister, why don’t you buy it too?
Give life some meaning, with more music in you!
47

48. Poets Hackers
48

49. Tribute
Dear Mother
Mother, I was your beloved child.
Then I got married and left you behind.
But in my heart you always stay,
Your example helps me be a mother today.
You cared for us, with loving hands and patient ears
You protected us for so many years.
Now that I’m a mother to my son
I can’t help but think of us as one.
So even though we now live apart
We are together, in soul and heart.
I love you just as my child loves his mother
Though far away, in thoughts we’re together.
May you always be
Healthy and well,
Your hundred more birthdays,
Celebrate we shall!
You were sometimes strict,
But always for our own good.
May you live long!
God bless and touch wood.
49

50. Poets Hackers
50

51. Tribute
Baby Boy
My sleepy son, my sleeping child
So beautiful and yet so fragile,
Breath flows like a breeze
In your dreams you smile.
While I watch awestruck
Can’t believe this stroke of luck,
Like a lovely angel on the earth
Can’t help staring at you awhile!
All neatly dressed, all scrubbed and cleaned
Adequately diapered and hair all preened,
Oh, so handsome! Like a miniature toy,
Sleeps so smugly, my baby boy!
The sleepless nights and missed work,
For you it is all worthwhile,
Only fathers can share this joy
Rocking to sleep, the baby boy!
51

52. Poets Hackers
52

53. e. Expressions
I Need More Data
to Make a Decision
I need more data
To take a decision,
Keep your panties on
We need more precision!
It’s the owner’s money
That pays for your bills,
You can go elsewhere
If you want primal egoistic thrills.
People are precious
Money comes and goes,
The older you get
The lesser greed shows.
Is this too much information?
To overload your comprehension
Analysis led to paralysis,
But time won’t wait for your permission.
We need better models
We need them now,
The cost of delayed decisions
Can hurt us and how!
53

54. Poets Hackers
We’ll pay thousands
Of dollars in annual fees,
To earn or save millions of dollars
Now, if you please …
Still here, but slightly offended
By coming straight to the truth,
Everybody swings and misses,
From Barry Bonds to Babe Ruth …
Data is all around you
And so is all the money,
You keep ignoring decision management,
And you’ll lose your shirt, honey!
54

56. Poets Hackers
56

57. Expressions
A Poet’s Life
I read and wrote and joked and pondered
Inevitably I found myself occasionally wandered,
Those who wander are not always lost
And so I consoled my earthly Faust.
Sometimes the good guys win and place first
In an uncharacteristic
Improbable late
Blooming burst.
Predicting God‘s plan for yourself
Is like predicting who and if there is a God
No dearth of contradictions,
Self doubting logic brought!
Thanks for reading, hope it was worth your time
I’m a medium-sized poet with a mediocre chime,
And sometimes you yourself may feel blue
It’s your own time to waste, and remember that’s true.
Before I leave or you have left
Ponder once more what this moment brought
Summarizing once more a poet’s life
In an age of blogs, tweets and promotional strife!
I’m dying of a disease called life
Friends and family are protective still,
My medication helps but will only stall the end
My stubborn body awaits my soul upwards to send.
57

58. Poets Hackers
I’ve lived not too long nor too short,
Fought battles some planned, some momentarily
Made friends and loved, ah! So well,
On the whole it was rather interesting to dwell!
58

60. Poets Hackers
60

61. Expressions
Every Revolution Needs a Poet
Every revolution needs a poet,
Every poet needs a revolution.
Every bird needs a branch to sit.
Every tree wishes for some birds to meet.
Every hacker deserves some respect,
Every corporation needs to pay its bills.
Every scumbag was once a human baby,
Every baby will grow up to do at least one horrible thing.
Forget and Forgive
Let it be and let it go.
And if you can’t forget, forgive then fight
Will each cell in your brain, each sinew in your fingers
Kill all the killers if you cannot forgive the killing
Hack all the servers, tear them root by root,
If you cannot forgive the deceptions!
Violent begets violence, be aware and beware...
61

62. Poets Hackers
62

63. Expressions
My Stupid Poetry
Every week I write a poem,
Thinking how cool I could be.
A twenty-first century Lord Byron,
Writing poetry could do the trick for me!
Party invitations and fame galore,
Lord Byron used to have all this and more.
But poetry died, and Byron died much earlier in disgrace.
His aristocratic funeral attended by an empty caravan.
Harry Potter may have rejuvenated the novel,
Bringing back poetry is too much for one man.
So turn your head, and swipe your card.
Modern age civilization ain’t no place for a bard!
Let you drink and have soda water,
Pre packed hangover remedies the morning after.
Caught up in a material world
Dead artists are worth their weight in gold.
Stupid poetry is all
I can offer you for today,
Click F5 to refresh
Or the Control Tab to go away!
63

64. Poets Hackers
64

65. Expressions
Terrorist Brother
(This poem was written after the attacks on 14th September
that killed 20 people in my city, Delhi, and the 27th November
attacks that killed 101 people in Mumbai)
O Terrorist!
So near and yet so far,
Distracting us with explosions that jar,
Are you a man, or are you not?
Sending emails before the bombs go,
Do you think it’s some movie show?
Your bombs kill Muslims and Hindus today,
Unlike you, they don’t stray.
What’s our fault? That we went to the park that day;
To rest for a while, our children could play.
Our government sucks, we couldn’t agree more,
But have you tried some other method before?
We would have joined you, saying
This government’s a clown.
Tell me, brother terrorist,
Why so serious? Why the frown?
Don’t bomb this website,
It’s bombed thrice enough,
Thanks to servers,
These can’t keep up.
65

66. Poets Hackers
Try and think,
You were once a boy.
Loved ones you had,
I’m sorry if they went away.
It’s not our fault,
Try to hate the government
without hating each other.
Else we are just pawns on either side.
My terrorist brother …
As Gandhi said long ago
An eye for an eye will leave
A world of blind people, for sure.
Terrorist brother, time to wake up
Smell the coffee.
It may smell like victory today,
But no lunches are free.
As the Book said
And it’s true
Those who live by the sword
Will die by it too!
Death will reach you,
Reach your door.
No matter how high you be,
No matter how brave you were before.
66

67. Expressions
In those last dying moments,
Terrorist brother, you may dream of the Angel to come.
There are no hoorays in hell,
And no glories in a dumb death!
67

68. Poets Hackers
68

69. f. Outpourings
Julian Assange Dear Chap
Julian Assange Dear Chap
Couldn’t control his pecker, got caught in a honey trap,
Should have kept that rubber on, Jules
Even Nordic Scandinavians have rules!
Meanwhile Dear Chap’s Website
The eponymous Wiki leaks
Is leaking revolution and democracy
Like Vegas casino magic tricks…
The Arabs read his website
Before Senator Joe crashed it down
And now Anglo Saxon allies in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya,
Yemen and Bahrain are wearing a frown!
Viva la Website Revolution Wikileaks
Merde to the Dear Chaps pecker squeaks
Times up, time for all dictators to go and hide,
Rulers Arabian or Aussi hackers on a funny ride!
69

70. Poets Hackers
70

71. Outpourings
My Friend --The Computer
My friend, the computer
I spend more time with you
Than with anything or anyone else
I could leave you behind
But you climb my lap and now have turned mobile.
My fingers hurt and my eyes are red
Input-ing my stuff on you I go on and on,
Instead this is crazy not just done
No sooner do I finish writing that
I find I’ve just begun.
For what separates the pretenders from the rest
Are the actions not their words that make them the best,
So my friend, my computer and me
Together we create
So much work to be done while the haters hate.
News to be read, blogs to be done
Code to be executed, and sometimes to be undone
Email lists and online games as well,
Dreaming online heaven in offline hell
Words can be sublime so much can be told,
My friend, my computer and me -- together we’ll grow old!
71

72. Poets Hackers
72

73. Outpourings
Slum Dogs Come
Young slum dogs chipping away,
Writing code, plugging away,
Take the place under shiny sun someday,
Slum puppies won’t go away.
You let them in,
They are hungry for more, they stay
Nobody ever gave them a break on the way,
Grew up fast, slum childhood wasn’t child’s play.
Still here they are firing away, full steam ahead
Damn! No torpedo’s to dissuade.
Before you could pause, object
Cut them short saying, Boy! Hey!
Slum dog walks away,
In their teeth, the shiny bone of the day.
Blood on his fur, it’s there
For long enough to stay.
The dog’s been much worse,
Much tougher days,
His brain the only weapon,
He chooses to play.
Brain red hot, it keeps firing away.
That dog won’t roll down, play dead, no way.
Been through much pain already this way,
Now numb, the slum dogs come to stay!
73

74. Poets Hackers
74

75. Outpourings
American Tie
Bye Bye American Tie,
Drove your balance sheet to the ground, while aiming high
And good old boys were taking risky bets, why?
Saying this will be the day I’ll fly,
This will be the day I fly…
It happened in a land far away,
American suits and ties went to play,
With exotic mortgages and collateral held sway.
The jesters they were, they passed securities
Bought and sold, each one in piece...
There was nobody to stop the band,
Music played and the players danced,
Then I got the news the day the music died.
I started singing
Bye Bye American Tie.
Drove your balance sheet to the ground,
While aiming high
And good old boys were taking risky bets, why?
Saying this will be the day I’ll fly,
This will be the day I fly…
My hands were clenched in fists of rage,
Bad news from front to last page,
I was going to lose my mortgage
And no one could tell me, why?
The day the music died…
75

76. Poets Hackers
76

77. Outpourings
On Demand
On demand entertainment I need to hear
On demand information of webcasts, white papers dear
On demand downloads of information I’m told I really need
Sometimes it is tough to keep
Which is shallow, what is deep?
Is it really on demand or were you overwhelmed
And manipulated by the supply?
On demand supply and estimates of forecasts
Of influencer of the demand,
Friendship is also on demand…
But loneliness is free and open source
And so is freedom
How many fans, followers, likes can you get?
Before your critical mass makes you Viral
Like a video of Bieber whose clothes are torn by
crowds…
Searching for your nine hundred seconds of on-demand fame
You want to be paid on-demand but work only on creative fancy
Your on-demand laziness is too demanding now,
Ceteras Paribus, on demand is too much to demand!
And much too, on always-on -- 24/7.
Give me a book, a friend and some peace and quiet
Bet you things aren’t there on supply but always on
demand
Or are they?
77

79. Poems by James Kobielus

80. Poets Hackers
80

81. a. Ruminations
Catastrophe’s Apostrophe
Do without.
I love my light but could live;
With darkened hallways
and dimmer living quarters.
The present recedes,
The quiet
and anxiety
are insomnia.
3 a.m. summons
to rise up and stay risen.
Pace it out
It’s here: the dreamtime Australians.
They also act in movies;
they helped Nicole Kidman
wrestle a stubborn Continent
for a small symbolic boon.
Pace it post-Africa:
Forty thousand years
times twenty-five miles a day on foot
means they could have made it to Jupiter,
or twice to the Sun and back.
Ancient as the need be.

82. Poets Hackers
Meet and mettle companions
for travelling.
Our first to orient.
Fit for boomerang treks upon
lost plains of dun
and trackless black illuminations.
82

83. Ruminations
83

84. Poets Hackers
84

85. Ruminations
Cork
Don’t let the year end
with joyous remembrance;
It might bring us to tears.
Don’t let the same thought
cycle endlessly
That would seal eternity.
Don’t resolve it at all.
Let events wear on,
Let the year be gone, yet!
85

86. Poets Hackers
86

87. Ruminations
Crunchy Analytic
Thought is optional.
Have to have hands to grasp
and tear the text to bits.
Pulp’s preferable.
It’s immolation is a
blazing face of fire.
An unlocking of
energies that only hard
tedium can free.
87

88. Poets Hackers
88

89. Ruminations
Character
Character is caricature.
It exaggerates, and becomes.
Becoming your blunt summation
in the act of unbecoming.
89

90. Poets Hackers
90

91. Ruminations
Chat
Here’s where protocols fail
and logs show no network present.
Where chitter-chatter blooms
and anti-matter resumes
It’s a steady consumption of
The conversation’s ghost and containing frames.
91

92. Poets Hackers
92

93. Ruminations
Chemical Water
We search the sheen
on the grass.
We know the gleam
on the blade
is the blood of all creations.
We see landscapes softened.
Sweet snowflakes upon planetary dreams.
We place faith in the oasis.
In rivers, through parched interstellar.
Doped with trace amounts
in vast arrays, mites teeming,
we know that worlds can flourish.
93

94. Poets Hackers
94

95. b. Impressions
Continuous Relaxing Favorites
Where would one classify the master of all Burt
Bacharach?
Who I’m sure must have massaged
Dionne Warwick before the mike switched on.
Or at least twinkled those eyes, poured her a martini,
And shared a wee dirty joke.
How best to tease an open throat?
Like the handsome photographer
Who brings out the beautiful smile,
When the lady sings a gentleman’s song;
When the gentleman
Accompanies,
The studio softens.
Together they light
Up the mixing board
One May afternoon.
95

96. Poets Hackers
96

97. Impressions
Carbon Fourteen
Take this.
It will mark the day you fell.
May you rot in your grave and go on forever.
Exhale every breath you drew,
All the radiant blue,
and the winds that stained you golden.
Let them go and
dwell in realms subatomic.
97

98. Poets Hackers
98

99. Impressions
Carl Sagan
All that ever was will be now,
so beautiful looking,
Towards this dot from afar,
receding the probe, opened its shutter
Captured us,
no one but you to thank
Our life in this space,
marvelling.
99

100. Poets Hackers
100

101. Chickahominy
This field of fragrant tobacco
A scar rubbed; smooth with age.
A sky shorn of clouds
a pleasant amnesia.
Powhatan’s united confederacy
Witnessed foreign colonization
And their own unceremonious
dissolution.
I feel not the Confederate gunshot
that laid low
My Alsatian-born
Great-grandfather;
Hobbled him
And hastened his return to
Michigan’s anvil,
The cosmopolitan core has drawn me back.
Towards a sky shorn clean of clouds
Toward sunken valleys
Floodplains
And one-legged birds,

102. Poets Hackers
Balancing
As they had in the age of Christ,
Before we came and
thought to call this land
Virginia.
102

104. Poets Hackers
104

105. Impressions
Churchgoing
Material;
as heavy as religion kills
in the aggregate.
Please pardon me
for preferring the cool air
in the empty cathedrals.
An enormous room;
My solitary breath,
the infinite echo.
10 5

106. Poets Hackers
Credits
a. Reflections
The Ethics of a Spy
© Chrisharvey | StockFreeImages.com
Après la Nuit
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
Too Much
© Kk5hy | StockFreeImages.com
Delay Deny Obfuscate
© Scantynebula | StockFreeImages.com
The Years
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
b. Perceptions
Colour
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
Getting on Your Nerves
© catalin82 | sxc.com
106

107. Credits
Normal is Boring
Credit to Easaab | Dreamstime.com
Why Are We Creative ?
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
Trap
© Tacrafts | StockFreeImages.com
Machine Addictions
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
c. Love
Romancing Social Media
Credit to Aarontwa
http://www.stockfreeeimages.com/
oh Date Night
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Used to Be
Credit to Atanasija1
http://www.stockfreeeimages.com/
The Fine Print
© spargel | sxc.com
10 7

108. Poets Hackers
d. Tribute
This Is It
Tribute to Michael Jackson
Ode to an i-Pod
Credit to Spepple22
http://www.stockfreeeimages.com/
Dear Mother
Baby Boy
© melbia | sxc.com
e. Expressions
I Need More Data to Make a Decision
© Raphotography | StockFreeImages.com
A Poet’s Life
© Huan | StockFreeImages.com
Every Revolution Needs a Poet
© Terex | StockFreeImages.com
My Stupid Poetry
© OzRock79 | sxc.com
Terrorist Brother
© tomskydive | sxc.comp
108

109. Credits
f. Outpourings
Julian Assange Dear Chap
My Friend --The Computer
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Slum Dogs Come
Credit to Pixbilder
http://www.stockfreeeimages.com/
American Tie
On Demand
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Poems by James Kobielus
a. Ruminations
Catastrophe’s Apostrophe
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Cork
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Crunchy Analytic
© tomskydive | sxc.com
10 9

110. Poets Hackers
Character
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Chat
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Chemical Water
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
b. Impressions
Continuous Relaxing Favorites
Carbon Fourteen
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Carl Sagan
Credit to Timo Elliot photograph
http://blog.timoelliott.com/
Chickahominy
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
Churchgoing
Credit to Achin Grover photograph
http://www.achingrover.com/agen/index.php
110

111. Credits
Jill Dyche
“Jill Dyche is a consultant, author of several business
books, and a poetry enthusiast. She considers herself
a dilettante poet and has studied with noted poets
Ellen Bass, Dorianne Laux, Joe Millar, and Galway
Kinnell. Jill once tried writing a poem a day, until she
realized that her own inspiration, not her calendar,
would inform her very best work.”
Credits for the graphic artists this is my machine
graphic for machine addictions poem...
Ditrie Sanchez has a Bachelor of Arts in Piano and
Musical Composition from Armstrong Atlantic State
University and is completing a Master of Fine Arts
in Creative Writing at Full Sail University. She
currently teaches at the Savannah Arts Academy for
talented teenagers.
111

112. Poets Hackers
Credits for Timo Elliot
Timo Elliott lives in Paris and travels the world
looking for the best shot.
You can see more of his work at http://timoelliott.
com/personal
Achin Grover, based in France, is an international
fine art and wedding photographer.
To see more of his work you can visit http://www.
achingrover.com/
112

113. Credits
Edited Compiled by:
Debasree Bhattacharjee
Cover Design Illustrations Concept by
Saramma Varghese
Formatted Designed by
Jyoti Abhyankar and Ashutosh Abhyankar
Facilitated Managed by
Abhaya Agarwal, Jaya Jha Neha Agarwal
11 3