Anti-Doom Pantoum

Maradydd said she wanted to see me try a pantoum, a complicated poetic form with interlocking repeating lines. It's a Malay form that was adapted into French by Victor Hugo - at least, that's what WikiWisdom says. I find it's a bit hypnotic, with a funny free-floating quality.

This Net was not foreseen by science fiction
Central control was pretty much the vision;
Cast a cold eye on futurist prediction:
They had a spotty pattern of precision.

Central control was usually the vision,
Via a giant computer that saw all.
They had a spotty pattern of precision.
Why were they so rarely on the ball?

Via a giant computer that saw all
A technical elite would rule our days -
Why were they so rarely on the ball?
The visions often end in some grim blaze.

A technical elite would rule our days?
Learn not to trust the fortuneteller's word.
The visions often end in some grim blaze.
In real life no dictatorship occurred.

Learn not to trust the fortuneteller's word.
Computers are compatible with freedom;
In real life no dictatorship occurred.
Consumers all say: “More hot spots! We need 'em.”

Computers are compatible with freedom.
Cast a cold eye on futurist prediction.
Consumers all say: “More hot spots! We need 'em.”
This Net was not foreseen by science fiction.