Poetry: Remembering machines of loving grace

AI image generated by Simon The Fourteen

What with all the (legit, we often think) concerns about tech ruining our sense of self, our social lives, and our politics, it's useful to remember that there was a time, not so long ago, when utopian hippies saw personal computers as a way to save the planet and the species. Poet Richard Brautigan, from 1967.

Watched over by machines of loving grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutual
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky. 

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms. 

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

--Richard Brautigan, 1967

More on Richard Brautigan here.

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