Fast Food for Thought

Poem by Rocco Valentini

Artwork Sourced from Pinterest. Artist: Edward Hopper.

Fast Food for Thought

by Antonio Rocco S. (Rocco Valentini)

Art is nutrition for the mind 
And our culture has an eating disorder.
The anemia has left us blind
And the heights we reach grow shorter.
Nourishment is needed to make the body strong,
But the mind’s dietary plan must be rethought.
Won’t someone with a refined palate come along
And offer more than just fast food for thought?

Self-help, harlequin and slice of life;
Why is this all that’s ever on the menu?
No one dares to cut the fat out with a knife;
The head chefs are barred from every venue.
Writers dip their quills in the inkwell of the world
And from their pages others' words silently seep.
By the masses their mediocrity is rarely unfurled;
They muddy the water to make it seem deep.

Who would place Michelangelo beside Warhol?
Would you pair a fine steak with a cheap wine?
Why must the industry exalt it all?
Why must the mediocre taint the sublime?
Picasso said good artists copy; great ones steal.
Hacks claim there’s nothing new under the sun.
As a result our filmmakers have run out of reel
And our comedians have run out of puns.

Our ideas shrink like microwaved leftovers,
Collapsing in on themselves—rubbery and bland.
This year’s debut album swept over,
A cover of last year’s band.
We praise mumble rappers in garrish bling
And lyricists whose words are hieroglyphs.
Must a bassist hang himself by his string
Just so he can sell his riffs?

Don't be afraid to be a bard in a peanut gallery;
A critic in a box seat may earn a higher salary,
But the code of competence is the golden rule
A democracy of geniuses beats a dynasty of fools. 
From the ashes of the public arises
A torchbearer carrying the spark of reason—
One whose vision allows no compromises,
Yet serves as a feast for vultures—a Promethean.