It used to be that rubbing a lamp,
Could summon a powerful genie,
The granter of wishes from three to many.

It has come to be that pressing a button,
Can invite a destructor so very strong,
As to remove every vestige of peace
Your mind has ever known.

The modern genie grants no wishes,
It isn’t friendly, jolly, or funny –
The modern genie, on the contrary,
Is a sense that pervades
Your room, your home, your heart,
Filling your every waking moment
With a feeling akin to dread.

The new age genie doesn’t do your bidding,
Instead, it lulls you into complying
To widely held norms, societal best fits –
You find yourself unwilling,
Or indeed unable to press the button
That will silence it.

For knowledge is everything,
Or so you’ve been made to believe –
Ignorance is bliss only for the foolish,
Even as your heart swells with pride;
And so,
You’d rather be in turmoil, but wise,
Than at bliss in a fools’ paradise.