Finding a poem
September 14, 2008 12:20 PM Subscribe
Finding a poem: An alien describes Earth's inhabitants as mechanized. The reader realizes that the alien is describing cars...
When I was in grade 7 or 8, we read the poem in class. The general theme is that our world is so overrun with cars that an alien observer might think that the cars are the dominant life form. The poem ends with the alien's question about the soft things (humans, but the alien doesn't realize this) inside the cars, "are they [the cars'] brains or guts?" My son is in grade 8 and doing a project that reminded me of this poem. Can anyone out there remember the title and/or poet?
When I was in grade 7 or 8, we read the poem in class. The general theme is that our world is so overrun with cars that an alien observer might think that the cars are the dominant life form. The poem ends with the alien's question about the soft things (humans, but the alien doesn't realize this) inside the cars, "are they [the cars'] brains or guts?" My son is in grade 8 and doing a project that reminded me of this poem. Can anyone out there remember the title and/or poet?
This reminds me of the character Ford Prefect in Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He chose this name when coming to Earth, thinking that this way he would 'blend in' with what looked like Earth's most important population, the cars.
posted by ddaavviidd at 12:40 PM on September 14, 2008
posted by ddaavviidd at 12:40 PM on September 14, 2008
Best answer: Also, a story by Carl Sagan is mentioned at the bottom. Now that I reread your question, you might be thinking of Southbound on the Freeway by Mary Swenson:
A tourist came in from Orbitville,
parked in the air, and said:
The creatures of this star
are made of metal and glass.
Through the transparent parts
you can see their guts.
Their feet are round and roll
on diagrams--or long
measuring tapes--dark
with white lines.
They have four eyes.
The two in the back are red.
Sometimes you can see a 5-eyed
one, with a red eye turning
on the top of his head.
He must be special-
the others respect him,
and go slow,
when he passes, winding
among them from behind.
They all hiss as they glide,
like inches, down the marked
tapes. Those soft shapes,
shadowy inside
the hard bodies--are they
their guts or their brains?
posted by iconomy at 12:41 PM on September 14, 2008 [3 favorites]
A tourist came in from Orbitville,
parked in the air, and said:
The creatures of this star
are made of metal and glass.
Through the transparent parts
you can see their guts.
Their feet are round and roll
on diagrams--or long
measuring tapes--dark
with white lines.
They have four eyes.
The two in the back are red.
Sometimes you can see a 5-eyed
one, with a red eye turning
on the top of his head.
He must be special-
the others respect him,
and go slow,
when he passes, winding
among them from behind.
They all hiss as they glide,
like inches, down the marked
tapes. Those soft shapes,
shadowy inside
the hard bodies--are they
their guts or their brains?
posted by iconomy at 12:41 PM on September 14, 2008 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks so much, iconomy.
I was in middle school in the early 1970s.
posted by angiep at 1:26 PM on September 14, 2008
I was in middle school in the early 1970s.
posted by angiep at 1:26 PM on September 14, 2008
May Swenson, not Mary (not to be all TypoFilter, but Googling "Mary Swenson" won't help anyone find more of May's amazing poetry).
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:33 PM on September 14, 2008
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:33 PM on September 14, 2008
A Martian Sends a Postcard Home, by Craig Raine. Best. Poem. Ever.
posted by media_itoku at 4:33 PM on September 14, 2008
posted by media_itoku at 4:33 PM on September 14, 2008
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posted by iconomy at 12:38 PM on September 14, 2008