Actual and Virtual

 

 

Actual we know:

This is about what is real

So that if he actually made it

We know he did not fail.

 

Virtual was understood

To have meant ‘almost’

Such that that particular person

Had no real rights to boast.

 

Virtual was at best

A mere second place position

While the actual first in order

Went to the champion.

 

First place you’d agree

Always has the bragging rights,

Second, third and down the line

Share the lesser delights.

 

Actual is the real thing

Virtual is just a semblance,

This was borne out only recently

In the COVID disturbance.

 

Gatherings were reduced

To an unacceptable limit

Especially in church services

Where this became a habit.

 

As a result of this

The actual became virtual

And ZOOM and YouTube platforms

Became more visible.

 

Churches still met though

But they did so mostly virtually

Which was nothing like the real

When they met actually.

 

It’s a vast difference

Between the virtual and the real

And for me they really are

Opposite ends of the scale.

 

 

 

“But this is virtually real”

Some will emphatically say

But for me that is an oxymoron

Coming into play.

 

More like “actually virtual”

Which is a more apt expression

To give meaning to this new thing

We call a virtual congregation.

 

Actual and virtual

Can never be synonyms,

At best, we are forced to conclude

These two must be antonyms.

 

Well I have virtually finished

Writing this actual poem,

Hence, the reality here is virtual-

I trust you see my problem.

 

Like the reality during COVID

When people virtually met,

They did not actually congregate

But that reality I get.

 

 

Call it a virtual reality

And add it to the oxymoron list

So that we can actually show

The impossible does exist.

 

Stewart Russell © June 17, 2023

 

 

A Virtual World

 

 

One night I went to sleep

Looking forward to the next day,

From the time I knew myself

This was always my way.

 

Then one morning I awoke

And everything had changed,

No kidding, my friend,

Life was all rearranged.

 

The newscaster said,

Welcome to the new norm,

It was as though during the night

There was a great storm.

 

I pinched myself

To wake myself from my dream

And then I realized

It was a virtual scene.

 

 

That Sunday I went to church

Virtually,

We hugged and we kissed

Virtually.

 

The message was delivered

From a virtual platform,

The next Sunday and the next

This was the new norm.

 

Children went to school

But they never left their home,

They received their information

On tablet and cellphone.

 

Those without either

Had to do without,

At least, till the Government

Could work something out.

 

 

People worked from at home

If they had the facility

And most aspects of their work

Were done virtually.

 

People received their salaries

Over the Internet

But of course, there are some

That haven’t gotten theirs yet.

 

Concerning hard earned cash

This was a thing of the past,

It was now bitcoin and I-money

A whole different class.

 

It was a virtual world

Where nothing was real

The Nihilist was in his own niche

While others were in a daze.

 

When people could not pay

They paid virtually

And since nothing was real

They did it repeatedly.

 

 

However, there were times

When to court they were Zoomed

And the settlement was virtual

Just like you assumed.

 

It reminded me of a time

When we played as children,

Everything was imaginary

But for some, this was a problem.

 

The feigned lashes got real

And you felt real pain,

And your intention there and then

Was never to play again.

 

We are coming full circle

To our childhood again

Where now, as full-grown adults,

We are playing childhood games.

 

Only that now, it is not a game,

It is actually virtually real

And any who refuses to play

Must be prepared to fail.

 

Virtual Easter, Crop-Over

And Christmas,

The real as we once knew it

Is passing away fast.

 

 

Think of a young child

Growing up in this new age,

Virtually wrong could be right

At some imminent stage.

 

Most of what was unacceptable

Could become acceptable

And we could very well do away

With the Holy Bible.

 

Realities could differ

Depending on whose reality

And everything could be right

In our new reality.

 

There’s no doubt in my mind

The floodgates are breached

And the virtual is becoming the real

Even as I speak.

 

COVID-19 is virtual,

No doubt some would say

But between you and me,

The experiences are real.

 

 

Whether we will ever go back

We can only wait and see

But for now, at this present time,

This virtual is our reality.

 

Stewart Russell © December 21, 2021

        

 

Commonsense

 

 

Good sense and gumption

Reasonableness and judgment

Horse sense and mother wit

Sagacity and discernment

 

Commonsense is basic sense

As in the case of a horse

So that a human being without it

Is an indication he/she is lost.

 

To sink below a horse

In the manner of our reasoning

Is a very dangerous proposition

That is quite disheartening.

 

The fact of its very name

Indicates it should be common

But here it gets most interesting,

It is sadly lacking quite often.

 

Due to stark shortsightedness

It was contrasted with education

But education without commonsense

Is lacking information.

 

In commonsense is education

And education in commonsense

And to separate the two of them

Should be an unlawful offense.

 

Commonsense is now outlawed

And replaced with a pseudo education,

An education that only makes sense

To those with a warped imagination.

 

You may think that I am going mad

Given the argument that I bring

But it seems there is a competition

 

For thinking up the most stupid thing.  

Education is about progress

It is about using our commonsense

But the direction in which it is going

Is absolute nonsense.

 

Which says it is not education

But a horrible lack of commonsense

And so-called educated people

Are rushing to its defense.

 

Commonsense and education

Walk hand in hand always

And if what we do does not improve life

Then the two have parted ways.

 

I am tempted to be specific

But I am urging you on to think

Of the many so-called bright people

Who are leading us to the brink!

 

Commonsense is becoming extinct

And nonsense is taking its place,

Many line at stupidity starting point

To compete in the nonsense race.

 

It’s like the advent of virtual reality

Is of far more significance that the real

And what has been long established

Is now becoming quite stale.

 

Let us accommodate everyone

Regardless of what he/she believes,

And though it be void of commonsense

Let us embrace its appeal.

 

 

It’s like fake news and the factual

Both of these are publicizing the truth,

And what is tremendously amazing…

Both supply undeniable proof.

 

You can now have an exact copy

Of what a person did not say,

Word for word and comma for comma

That’s the new commonsense way.

 

My commonsense is not yours

And your commonsense is not mine,

But both of them are commonsense

Though commonsense of a different kind.

 

We have commonsense that is madness

And commonsense that is not common,

It is high time we define the term

To include the ridiculous and the wanton.

 

Then commonsense would be anything

That the weirdest weirdo would do:

In which case the only commonality would be

It has to be somebody's view.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019