Uncategorized – Page 11 – Anton Martin Smith Writer

“Editorial: Todays Barbarianism To Civility Ratio ” (A Prose Poem)

November 7, 2025November 8, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged australian-writer, Barbarism, Books, Civility, history, Humour, nz-writer, Poems, Shakespeare, writingLeave a comment

by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmith@gmail.com

An national economy should have a ratio of ‘Barbarism to Civility’ –

Yes the “B.T.C” should be quoted in the same revered terms that “G.D.P” is.

A high ‘B.T.C ratio’ should be of great embarrassment to a nation.

In fact – far more so than a ‘Low G.D.P’ is.

For we can all agree that it is better to be poor but gracious,

Than a marauding, unthinking brute.

One day I hope to sit down at a cafe with newspaper in hand,

With the big front page headline booming:

“Barbarianism To Civility Ratio Crashes 27.7% : Spontaneous celebrations fill the streets everywhere!”

& when we open the next day’s paper perhaps we may see this updated report:

“Unfortunately due to the previous days ongoing unbridled celebrations that then turned into a melee –

There was caused a near instantaneous boom in the Barbarism to Civility ratio,

Resulting in a sudden reversal of fortunes,

Thus wiping out yesterdays very happy losses.”

Shakespeare in Titus wrote the line

“Thou art a Roman; be not barbarous”.

But yet he knew & we all know how barbarous the Romans were.

And since we are merely a scattered smoking remnant of the Roman Empire

Do we not today still deceive ourselves in exactly the same way?

We are indeed a well shaken cocktail of Barbarism & Civility.

But let us step towards the silver linings, away from our clouded & foggy minds.

Let’s give a Roman ‘Ave’ to the advent of the ‘Barbarism to Civility Ratio’, printed daily.

Sure I know it wont work, but as a late era Roman I have a love of empty platitudes,

Bold face lies, & abject pigheadedness,

& getting blindly drunk on highly-dubious-philosophic-alcoholic-elixirs.

It is the merely the Late-Era Roman way.

“Cafe Produced Warblings” (A Poem)

November 1, 2025November 1, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged Books, Cafes, Coffeehouses, poem, Poems, Poet Laurette, Poetry, social commentary, writingLeave a comment

by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

I had just finished listing to the old ‘Poet Laurette’ and was on my way out.

A spare coffee was needed for the usual night’s work – that is, writing.

For sipping a coffee while trying to be original certainly helps matters.

< Digression: >

Isn’t a pity that we if being truthful now have to say “excuse me for my keyboard clacking awaits”,

Versus yesteryear’s romantic “Excuse me Sir/Madam my quill & parchment & fine hardwood desk awaits”.

Yes it is a pity, but I remind myself that it’s the writing that matters vs the input method.

< Digression Ends >

“What do you do” said the coffee girl.

“I do some Carpentry & Handyman-ing, but that’s only half my life…

….the other half is sitting in front of a computer at night – ya’know – writing”.

I wasn’t sure if she respected the arts, but I was tired of hiding today,

And with the new owners – the cafe was now becoming more of an arts hangout to.

“Oh”, she says.

it was hard to decipher if this was a “good oh” or a “bad oh” or a neutral “oh”.

As I left the cafe she says “have fun in front of your computer!”

It sounded a little like a “jab” but we types are touchy on such matters, aren’t we?

As I was literally half out the door I reposted (in good humour of course).

“You never know – I might write a poem about you“

The 70-something Poet Laurette who was sitting quietly at a table laughed as he overheard.

“I hope not” she said.

“That’s why they say ‘the pen is mightier than the sword'” I doubly retorted.

Again, the Poet Laurette chortled.

And as I walked home on that perfect sunny day, I thought to myself:

Ah these trips to the cafe are getting better & better.

They are even beginning to foment material.

Why is it always true that the life-sliced-words have a certain ring?

Because they’re the freshly filtered words emerging from the ground.

That’s why.

Long live the cafe-produced-warblings –

For much like ourselves, we would all miss them had they not been there.

“Damn The kooks That Threw the books”. (A Poem)

October 28, 2025October 30, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged Barbarians, Books, Nouveau Riche, PoemsLeave a comment

by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

The Zombies have arisen swiftly,

The ones that fear the page,

The ones that are tremble-weary of the wisened word.

These walking dead have taken over the halls of power,

With minds of pewter, & clothes of gold.

Like schoolchildren they’ve scribbled empty platitudes on all the walls,

The walls that border the town squares .

By now the charletans have triumphed through all the worlds arches.

They’ve never tried Shakespeare,

& think ‘King Lear’ was a guy who got meetoo’d.

They think Dickens was probably a dick (for he liked books so),

& Chaucer simply a sorcerer (For he loved words didn’t he).

They think Keats was a brand of jeans (For they hate Poets),

& Byron they’ve confused for a beach (They love Jetskis after all).

They think Milton is only a dud town (They’ll burn for that),

& Samuel Johnson just some retired English football player (For Ignoramus Pro Sportmen are their Gods).

Though it is true they have been known to use a book,

It is only to usually to throw or perhaps to stand upon,

To see something over a fence that they are not meant to see –

Probably someone getting changed with drapes open.

These are our new leaders – the ‘new anti-book-barbarians’ – the N.A.B.B.’s

Unlike the Nazi’s –

They have no need physically burn the books – they’re to lazy for that.

They simply ignored the books metaphysical raison-de-tre entirely.

If anyone said “Look at that book” they’d look squarely at it & say….’where???’

For the N.A.B.B’s have always loved the ‘boldface lie’ – call it a hobby of theirs.

And so of course this couldn’t end well – the Earth & all its skies did soon fall.

The sound was like a table full of wine glasses suddenly tipped over by a drunk reveler.

For we let the barbarians – the N.A.B.B’s – through our too flimsy psychic fortifications,

Thinking for too long that they were not an enemy,

Because they had sneakily swindly-snuck up from the deepths – our depths.

They ‘faked it’ but we let them ‘make it’.

And so naturally, everything had to become ‘completely fake’.

And when the end did finally come,

With the falling & crashing of the skies above,

The few hiding-readers-still-alive did but shiver-shed a single ‘encoldened’ tear –

For with their foresight, they saw it all coming but did nothing –

They had never left their rooms.

For their tall overflowing bookcases, comfy chairs, & violin & piano filled spaces,

Were all far too enchanting to unshackle themselves from.

Doubly so, during those last few anarchic years.

And this legend does tell of the Earth’s last ever Reader.

& you ask ‘what dying words were ‘mumurously’ said?’:

“Damn the kooks that threw the books –

The barbarians at our door.

These blames I take for my own self –

For their unworded parrys I chose to ignore”.

Special Philosophical Post……’Our Mental Life’

October 21, 2025October 21, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged history, how to live life well, life, Modernity, philosophy, politics, writingLeave a comment

by Anton martin Smith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

Sometimes I like to write essays or articles – usually they just pop into existence like a quantum particle. They arrive when they arrive. Because they are often ‘long winded’ vs ‘artistic’, I coral them all on another site – which has very little following (requires too much mental attention you see).

Below is the opening few lines & a link to the whole article – should you be interested in Philosophical musings…….

There’s a saying about when you level up your biggest enemy/s comes from a person in your inner circle, and you biggest champion comes from a complete stranger.

It’s a very interesting little saying…….

Read The rest of this post by clicking link below:

“Our Mental Life: A Constant Battle Between the Ancients & The Modern”

Beards, Pitchforks, & Drays (A Prose Poem)

October 18, 2025October 23, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged AI, coca cola, dystopia, Poems, social commentary, technology, The Amish, The Future, Warnings of AILeave a comment

by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

Some days I think of ‘Donkeys & Drays’.

& Not becasue I am a ‘freak’ – that is beside the point.

I am musing of the the many mega-foibles, of our medern technology

For The Amish were right,

They said no to the Model T,

& kept their horse & cart.

Once ridiculed as luddites,

They are now looking like geniuses.

For the biblical ‘apple of knowledge’ warning is true:

The idea that Tech will bring forward ‘Utopia’ is probably a sly illusion.

Now that we are about to be enslaved by smart robots,

We are starting to finally get it.

Yes, there will come a day when you trade in your ‘Tesla’ for a ‘Dray’.

You will pick the dray up from the Amish folk,

And The Tesla will be given to the ‘smart robots’ to drive away in.

But because you are wiser than most, you have moved early to become Amish-like.

It’s always wise to be an ‘early adopter’ anyway – is it not?.

For soon you will have no choice:

For while the catch cry of “technology is the future” was true once,

Long term – It was not true for us, it was true for them…the futures artificial beings.

Our future will be full of:

Ridiculously Long Beards,

Dowdy clothing,

Garden-grown food,

Rusty Old Pitchforks,

Campfire musings,

Donkeys, Horses, & Drays.

And we’ll be really surprised that for all of this – we’re all a lot more happier for it.

While pitchforking away the mountains of hay, we will turn to our ex-cubicle workmate & say:

“The Amish were right all along – I’m having a blast, why was I a cubicle-techno-sucker for so long?”.

To which your now long-bearded or long dressed ex-cubicle workmate will say:

“I totally agree, but I do miss coca-cola just a tad”.

To which you will reply by pointing & shouting.

“JUDAS!”,

While still privately thinking they are correct,

Within the privacy of you own mind…

This article is owned by Martin Smith Creations ltd (NZ). If you are a person or a small non-profit please read or reproduce freely. Commercial Users or NGO’s: If you want to purchase for reprint of this work for a commercial project to reach a wider audience – then contact me via martinantonsmith@gmail.com to gain written legal permission.

“Deadly De-Facto’s” (A Poem)

October 11, 2025October 23, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged alcohol, Australasia, Defactos, Freedom, life, Life In NZ, Life's Meaning, Meaning, Slice-of-lifeLeave a comment

by Anton MartinSmith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

They are not ‘chilling’ at all..

They are avoiding life itself.

By avoiding all chances of pain,

They also killed the oasis’ of creativity,

That the world delivers only haphazardly.

They murdered their ‘pals of camaraderie’ –

Most of who existed but were never summoned.

For how does a life become a-life-worthwhile?

Interestingly their pain simply compounded anyway.

At least the smarter ones involved at least knew to drink –

For if a fool’s errand doth live – then let it raise a glass to itself.

“No! – Mans Best Friend is a Not a Dr…” (A Prose Poem)

October 9, 2025October 23, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cartels, Doctors, Dr, fantasy, fiction, Humerous Prose, Humour, Laughs, life, Medico Industry, Scams, short story, Slice Of madness, Spoken Word, witty proseLeave a comment

by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmithwrites@gmail.com

Are You Seriously Unwell or Just Mega Jaded?

This is a serious question.

I am sure that in reality there is no difference.

After all surely the symptoms “Mega Jaded” qualify:

Brain Fog to the extreme;

Total lack of energy;

Zero Motivation;

Feelings of Depression;.

You may as well be diagnosed with Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome, aka CFS

Or Multiple Sclerosis, aka MS.

Or the dreaded ‘God-Knows-What-Syndrome’, aka GKWS.

The problem is if you are just “Mega jaded”,

Which is really just a form of “Burnout” –

To which the sufferer’s complaints no one listens, let alone hands out ‘free passes’ for.

It’s not ‘fair’ but then again only the biggest fools expect life to be ‘fair’.

The Mega Jaded/Burnt out are told to “snap out of it loser”,

Usually & most frequently by the people who look the saddest when they smile.

While if you have CFS or MS you welcomed as a ‘cash cow’ by the ‘Medico Scammers’ –

Who are a variety of the ‘ look saddest when they smile fraternity’ –

Who are always hungry for Taxpayer Lobster Dinners – aka TLD’s.

So, if you are “Mega Jaded” you may as well get your free ‘Dr Lobster Diagnosis’ – aka D.L.D.

Let the ‘Cash Cow’ out of the milking sheds!

& when the ship finally goes down – it won’t matter anyway –

For The Lobsters will survive & the Doctors will die.

I’d call that an all-round societal win-win for all,

Including the Drs themselves,

Most of who are tired of ScamDoctoringTM anyway,

But the Medico-Mafia-System has their balls or ovaries in a formaldehyde-filled-jar.

A Cynical summation? – yes – but at least 51% entirely ‘scamftifically’ true,

& Poetically speaking – at least 100% true – which btw isn’t saying much.

And now it’s time to fly – but let me leave you with a final ‘surmisory’ penultimate witticism.

As the anti-Bob Dylan once never crooned -“Oh the times they are a un-changin’ “

& Ladies & Gents! To put the final boot – that may-in-time-one-day reach ‘adage status’:

No!!! – Mans Best Friend is a Not a Dr – Yet His Nose Is Just As Wet.

An update from the writer

October 4, 2025October 7, 2025Posted in UncategorizedTagged blog, family, fans, fiction, Update, writingLeave a comment

Hello there fellow readers of creativity…..

I hope the world has shown its silver linings to the many gloomy clouds that abound…..

Things have been ok with me – the cold winter is gone & I manage to eke by with a few handyman jobs….

…..though I did get three wasp stings to my face on a job……

….I looked like “the elephant man for 2 days….

…..I learnt to wear a face covering while cutting back overgrowth in a back yard!

Outside that just normal family issues that a 47-year-old has (older parents being a major factor!).

BULLET POINT SITE NEWS TIME!

I have a cool update – I have added a link for “Buy me a coffee” at the permanent top right of the web page!
My novella/Novel is going well – XXXXXXSPOILER ALERT XXXXXXX I am up to the point where the AI computer speaks
The Site has had its 500th like
The site has already surpassed last years traffic/views by 20%
This weirdo is still happy writing (I won’t dare mention that thing writers get that has initials of W.B.)

So things are mostly ok overall, though I have been a little bad at networking…..this is a problem of writers…we don’t naturally do the networking thing well – which is bad for business….we can only try to incrementally improve on this. We need to put our ‘business hats’ on a little more, in the same way that a parent force feed their kids to ‘eat their veges’ – ‘they don’t like it but they have to do it for their health’ (or they used force feed us veges in my 80s 90s era).

Anywho…I will keep this short.

“Keep eating those WORDS WORDS WORDS – Less THEY EAT YOU”

Anton Martin Smith (my new pen name a small rejig of my real one)

p.s. thanks to all my new subscribers! I now have 54 I think!