lordmysteryham:

what-even-is-thiss:

setheverman:

poem: being awake is a mistake

I’m bored and can’t sleep, so I’m gonna do my English major close reading thing. And no, whatever original intention there was here doesn’t matter.

poem: being awake is a mistake

Firstly, the surface meaning here isn’t quite as cut and dry as might first appear. Regretting being awake could mean any number of things. Or perhaps even it isn’t regret at all. Calling being awake a mistake could refer to the uncomfortable feeling of getting out of bed, the existential dread typical of the website and era this poem was published in, something related to mental illness, or perhaps just an annoyed jab at whatever activity is occurring.

Second, this is most likely meant to be comedic and the rhyming element gives the work a slightly juvenile and playful vibe while still remaining cynical in tone. And the poem itself acknowledges that it is a poem. The colon indicates that the second part is more important than the first, that “poem” is not nearly as important as “being awake is a mistake”. However, the putting of “poem” there in the first place and the lack of capitalization anywhere give it a slightly otherworldly or cryptic feeling typical of the 21st century meme. It could be a commentary on poetry, or the current state of internet culture, relying on “relatable” content and existential dread in order to gain attention.

And that’s as far as I wanna go tonight. Honestly, the tiniest poems are the most packed with stuff and this is ripe for close reading. I could write a small paper on this tiny poem but I’ll spare you. Goodnight.

i would disagree—the poem is obviously critiquing the current political landscape of the decade. with the rising popularity of the term “woke” in reference to those who are critical of systematic abuses, (among other things, this critique is by no means exhaustive)

by the government they reside in, Everman is attempting to coin a new phrase, sister to “Ignorance is Bliss”. Everman here defines “awakeness” (”wokeness”) as a mistake, with the implication that being aware of injustice incurs feelings of dread and hopelessness. really, “being awake is a mistake” is a deeply millennial writing and expresses not only the doubt of aging in an unstable economic and sociopolitical environment wherein not only our labor exists to be undervalued and exploited, but conveys our generational existential angst as well. a masterpiece.