The Means Will Be Man’s Undoing

Poem ~ Inspired by Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The relevance of Dylan’s 1963 lyrics to recent events is stunning.

Ridge
Blue Insights
Published in
2 min readDec 5, 2024

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Photo by Dominik Pearce on Unsplash

The means of man’s doings
have evolved to a degree
that the rate to effectuate
has increased exponentially.

The rate which man effects conflict
has his own safeguards overtook.
Ergo, man has exceeded artful
ways to avoid a donnybrook.

End-games and consequences
need careful contemplation.
When the outcome is uncertain,
do not provoke aggravation.

Too often shit happens too soon.
Man-plans hastily cooked,
ill-conceived, and ill-considered
too often turn to gobbledygook

With means being so immediate
and man being so impulsive,
it foretells a future precipitate
with repercussions so repulsive.

© December 4, 2024 Ridge

Primitive, Frank, and Relatable Rhymes,
Depictions of Life’s Circumstance
In the Raw Artless Tenor of Our Times

“The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Dylan 1963

Come gather ‘round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’’

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Blue Insights
Blue Insights

Published in Blue Insights

Creating and sharing emotions — Spark plugs to ignite your virtual humanity. Everyone deserves to be heard.

Ridge
Ridge

Written by Ridge

My body long ago betrayed, but my mind hath staged a coup after I dared to engage and explore alternative points of view.

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