THREE POEMS INSPIRED BY THE 2014 ACADEMY AWARDS

Here are three poems that kind of popped into my head while I was watching this year's (2014) Oscar ceremony. Read them and enjoy them or hate them, whichever you prefer.

WE ARE ALL ‘THE ONE’

by matt burns

I enjoy watching the Hollywood movies

The movies have characters

These characters are often underdogs

Christ-like figures

Established to be destined for great things

Sometimes they’re even called “The One”

Like Neo from The Matrix

Or Jake from Avatar

Luke Skywalker

John Connor

Bilbo Baggins

Simba

Leonidas

Danielson

Harry Potter

Batman

Ironman

Spiderman…

These characters are special

And I feel these movies are speaking to me, the viewer

They’re making me feel like I’m special

Like I’m destined for great things

Sometimes I even feel like I’m ‘The One’

And the rest of the people in the world

Are just supporting characters

But then I realize these movies are made for the masses

And there are millions of other viewers out there

Having the same one-on-one personal experience

They’re all sitting

Watching the movie

And feeling like they’re being spoken to

And they’re thinking the same thing I am

That they’re special

That they’re “The One”

Hollywood makes us all feel like we’re special

That there is me

And then there are the supporting characters

And me is more important than others

And the world revolves around me

In short

Hollywood has created a society of narcissists

Hollywood has blinded us from our interconnectedness

That we’re all of equal importance

That all our actions combined collectively create importance

That no one of us is “The One”

But, rather, we are all THE ONE

FIND ANOTHER SANDMAN

by matt burns

Hello my name is Hollywood

Watch my movies

Come to me, baby!

I am your Sandman

I will keep reassuring you

That your dream will come true

And even if it doesn’t by the time you die

At least you’ve watched my movies

And have given me a TON of business

Chao, sucker

All right, I’ll level with you

I’ll let you in on a little secret

But you didn’t hear it here

And this is the only time I will speak the truth to you...

Sure dreams come true, ya stupid schmuck!

REAL, healthy dreams come true

But my dreams are pipe dreams

And, yeah, those sometimes come true

But only a select few get those

Yeah, the Best Actress got hers

And Best Actor

Director

Sound Design guy

Short animated film dude

Costume design lady

But for what?

Being involved with a mediocre movie

With watered-down ideas

And watered-down intelligence?

That’s not a dream

It’s a pipe dream

Word of advice, babe

Find another Sandman

Find another dream!

There

The secret is out

Now if you keep on comin’ back to me

After I divulged all that Intel

Which you most likely will

Because you prefer the unreality

To the reality

Then you deserve to be ripped off

And that’s what I get off on, anyway

Giving you the truth, straight up

And seeing you ignore it

And just keep on coming back to me

Like a pathetic piece of lowest common denominator

I have no respect for you

Can’t say I didn’t warn ya!

Chao!

REMEMBERING THE WIZARD OF OZ

by matt burns

It’s been 75 years since the movie premiered

The Oscars are doing a special memorial

Liza and the other children are in the audience

A singer named Pink is singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

And there are images from the film playing behind her

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

It’s a song about following your dreams

Same with the film

It’s a movie about following your dreams

It’s saying the American dream is out there

Somewhere

Over the rainbow

All you gotta do is believe

What the Academy fails to show

At any point during the memorial

Are pictures of Judy Garland

In the 1960s

The burnt-out Judy Garland

The Garland who died of a barbiturate overdose

At the young age of 47

Some say it was a suicide

Others insist it was an accident

But either way…

It was a tragic demise

And she died young

Maybe they should have shown those pictures

The ones where she’s burnt out

Drugged up

Or at least mentioned that she died young

Self-medicating herself from the pain of true reality

Not the American Dream

But true reality

Maybe they should stop lying to people

And show what’s at the end of the pretty rainbow

Maybe they should reveal the wizard behind the curtain

And show that the wizard is a very dark

Sinister

And fucked

Up

Man

Maybe they should show

The dark side

To this “American Dream”