Slickest Electronic Ignorance
There is no sin but ignorance. ~ Christopher Marlowe
He said that he was interested in things
Of Japanese tradition. Having doubts,
I asked him, “So…like cherry-blossom springs?”
Well, no. He was thinking Samurai clouts
In battle . . . but not even that. It now
Seems that he knows about the Samurai
From only e-games on his console (pow! Pow!
POW!) where a simulacrum of a guy
In ancient Nippon thwacks his foes in lanes
Between this fortress and the next and kills
Them left and right, and leaves large bloody stains
Of e-blood, constant thwacking, spills and thrills.
The ins and outs of feudal culture are
Beyond kids’ ken. Each only wants to be a gaming star.
~ Phillip Whidden