Socialist Sonnet No. 161 War Gamers (2024)

From the Socialism or Your Money Back blog 

War Gamers

Night by night sitting like obsessed gamers

Fixated on screens. This evening’s download

Could be Gaza, Ukraine, somewhere abroad.

Graphics are so realistic, the framers

Ensure all players are fully in-shot,

Both perpetrators and victims portrayed

In role, with impressive weapons arrayed:

Rack up more points than last night? Perhaps not.

A helpful voiceover or avatar 

Pops up whenever there’s something to say, 

To grab attention when it’s drifting away, 

Or tempted to upload another war. 

The spectacular needs to be massive, 

For viewers to be retained and passive.

D. A.