--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mad Lib Elegy\" There are starving…" description: "\"“Mad Lib Elegy\" There are starving children left on your plate. There are injuries without brains. Migrant workers spend 23 hours a day removing tiny s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/ben-lerner-9267_broken-world_mad-lib-elegy-there-are-starving-childre_2248826.jpg" --- # Mad Lib Elegy" There are starving children left on your… ![“Mad Lib Elegy" There are starving children left on your plate. There are injuries without brains. Migrant workers spend 23 hours a day removing tiny seeds from mixtures they cannot afford to smoke and cannot afford not to smoke. Entire nations are ignorant of the basic facts of hair removal and…” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/ben-lerner-9267_broken-world_mad-lib-elegy-there-are-starving-childre_2248826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/ben-lerner-9267_broken-world_mad-lib-elegy-there-are-starving-childre_2248826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/ben-lerner-9267_broken-world_mad-lib-elegy-there-are-starving-childre_2248826.jpg) > ““Mad Lib Elegy" There are starving children left on your plate. There are injuries without brains. Migrant workers spend 23 hours a day removing tiny seeds from mixtures they cannot afford to smoke and cannot afford not to smoke. Entire nations are ignorant of the basic facts of hair removal and therefore resent our efforts to depilate unsightly problem areas. Imprisonment increases life expectancy. Finish your children. Adopt an injury. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back, I'm shooting everybody.' \[line omitted in memory of\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\] 70% of pound animals will be euthanized. 94% of pound animals would be euthanized if given the choice. The mind may be trained to relieve itself on paper. A pill for your safety, a pill for her pleasure. Neighbors are bothered by loud laughter but not by loud weeping. Massively multiplayer zombie-infection web-games are all the rage among lifers. The world is a rare case of selective asymmetry. The capitol is redolent of burnt monk. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back I'm shooting everybody.' \[line omitted in memory of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\] There are two kinds of people in the world: those that condemn parking lots as monstrosities, ‘the ruines of a broken World,' and those that respond to their majesty emotionally. 70% of the planet is covered in parking lots. 94% of a man's body is parking lot. Particles of parking lot have been discovered in the permanent shadows of the moon. There is terror in sublimity. If Americans experience sublimity the terrorists have won. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back I'm shooting everybody.' \[line omitted in memory of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\]”” [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fragmented, surreal critique of modern society’s contradictions, violence, and absurdities, blending personal confession with social commentary **In simple terms:** A chaotic poem exposing social absurdities and personal turmoil Key Takeaway Recognize absurdities, question norms Themes satire social critique absurdism violence identity environment Mood conflicted provocative darkly humorous Type poetic political philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - mental health awareness - urban planning - animal welfare activism - political protest Key Concepts postmodernism nihilism consumerism urban decay psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does absurdity reveal truth? - What responsibilities arise from witnessing societal contradictions? A Different Perspective The poem’s disjointed style may obscure its message for some readers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-world/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Elegy Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegy-starving-5128262/) [Euthanized Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euthanized-given-5128264/) [Lib Elegy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lib-elegy-5128265/) [Life expectancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-expectancy/) [Loud laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loud-laughter/) [Migrant workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrant-workers/) [Nations Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations-ignorant-5128263/) [World Condemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-condemn-1977982/) ## Related quotes > [God takes a safe course with His children, that they may not be condemned with the world, He permits the world to condemn them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/god-takes-a-safe-course-with-his-children-that-they-may-not-be/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [The worst way to improve the world is to condemn it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-worst-way-to-improve-the-world-is-to-condemn-it/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [He who loves is not ashamed before men of what he does for God, neither does he hide it through shame though the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/he-who-loves-is-not-ashamed-before-men-of-what-he-does-for-god/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) > [“The world would condemn but they would rejoice; glorious outcasts, unashamed, triumphant!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radclyffe-hall/the-world-would-condemn-but-they-would-rejoice-glorious-outcasts/) [Radclyffe Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radclyffe-hall/) > [Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/laughter-is-the-shock-absorber-that-eases-the-blows-of-life/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [I was eleven when my father left, so neither of us really knew our fathers. I’d met mine of course, but then I only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-jones/i-was-eleven-when-my-father-left-so-neither-of-us-really-knew-our/) [Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-jones/) > [“Mary fell asleep early, but her dreams were most unpleasant. She was a mouse running across the kitchen floor, and Elizabeth was a sharp-clawed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/mary-fell-asleep-early-but-her-dreams-were-most-unpleasant-she-was-a/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > [Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/frequent-and-loud-laughter-is-the-characteristic-of-folly-and-ill/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“During the day she carried her boy, bandaged and fed the wounded, leaving her own festering wounds until night-time when she licked them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/during-the-day-she-carried-her-boy-bandaged-and-fed-the-wounded/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [“If my entire life is like this, loud laughter and bold action and the kind of exhaustion you feel after a hard but satisfying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/if-my-entire-life-is-like-this-loud-laughter-and-bold-action-and-the/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I remember Mrs. Brool, whose photograph is still in the tuckshop; she served there until an uncle in Australia left her a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/i-remember-mrs-brool-whose-photograph-is-still-in-the-tuckshop-she/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [It is by vivacity and wit that man shines in company; but trite jokes and loud laughter reduce him to a buffoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/it-is-by-vivacity-and-wit-that-man-shines-in-company-but-trite-jokes/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“In 1881, being on a visit to Boston, my wife and I found ourselves in the Parker House with the Ingersoll 's, and went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moncure-daniel-conway/in-1881-being-on-a-visit-to-boston-my-wife-and-i-found-ourselves-in/) [Moncure Daniel Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moncure-daniel-conway/) > [“stomach hurts. If my entire life is like this, loud laughter and bold action and the kind of exhaustion you feel after a hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/stomach-hurts-if-my-entire-life-is-like-this-loud-laughter-and-bold/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-loud-laugh-that-spoke-the-vacant-mind/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## More by Ben Lerner > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Shaving is a way to start the workday by ritually not cutting your throat when you've the chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/shaving-is-a-way-to-start-the-workday-by-ritually-not-cutting-your/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“What you need to do is harness the self-love you are hypostasizing as offspring, as the next generation of you, and let it branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/what-you-need-to-do-is-harness-the-self-love-you-are-hypostasizing-as/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-i-want-to-say-something-to-the-schoolchildren-of-america-who-were/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Part of what makes the book bizzare is that Whitman, because he wants to stand for everyone, because he wants to be less a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/part-of-what-makes-the-book-bizzare-is-that-whitman-because-he-wants/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I didn't want to write another book about fraudulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-didn-t-want-to-write-another-book-about-fraudulence/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [The problem is that if you're self-conscious about being a person on whom nothing is lost, isn't something lost - some kind of presence?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-problem-is-that-if-you-re-self-conscious-about-being-a-person-on/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Most of us start from that position of irony now and what I wanted to do - really felt like I had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/most-of-us-start-from-that-position-of-irony-now-and-what-i-wanted-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Laser technology has fulfilled our people's ancient dream of a blade so fine that the person it cuts remains standing and alive until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/laser-technology-has-fulfilled-our-people-s-ancient-dream-of-a-blade/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/our-contempt-for-any-particular-poem-must-be-perfect-be-total-because/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [If I was a poet, I had become one because poetry, more intensely than any other practice, could not evade its anachronism and marginality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/if-i-was-a-poet-i-had-become-one-because-poetry-more-intensely-than/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Your interviews or blog posts or whatever are less supplements to your novel than part of it. I'm not private, but I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/your-interviews-or-blog-posts-or-whatever-are-less-supplements-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“I’m going to kill the president. I promise. I surrender. I'm sorry. I'm gay. I'm pregnant. I'm dying. I'm not your father. You're fired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-going-to-kill-the-president-i-promise-i-surrender-i-m-sorry-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) [Explore all 73 Ben Lerner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More Broken world quotes > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Let us then try what love can do to mend a broken world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/let-us-then-try-what-love-can-do-to-mend-a-broken-world/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“We’ve all been at least a little broken by the world. But the world only notices when we try to hurt it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-nickless/we-ve-all-been-at-least-a-little-broken-by-the-world-but-the-world/) [Barbara Nickless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-nickless/) > [“we elevate what we deem beautiful, endeavor to create spheres of pristine beauty, and perhaps rightly so, for “whatever is good, pure, lovely, think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/we-elevate-what-we-deem-beautiful-endeavor-to-create-spheres-of/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“That was when I realized we weren’t born to be slaves. It was ignorant for any man to think he could be the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-grewal/that-was-when-i-realized-we-weren-t-born-to-be-slaves-it-was-ignorant/) [Jay Grewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-grewal/) > [“I had never been so close to death before. For a long time, as I lay there trying to clear my mind, I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-brink/i-had-never-been-so-close-to-death-before-for-a-long-time-as-i-lay/) [Andre Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-brink/) > [“Then, with a stately leap, the sun bounded into the sky, and the whole, messy, beautiful, broken world was stained with fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-constable/then-with-a-stately-leap-the-sun-bounded-into-the-sky-and-the-whole/) [Kate Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-constable/) > [Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/adoption-is-a-redemptive-response-to-tragedy-that-happens-in-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pain is a lifelong fixture in a broken world, girl. All of us need strength from God to face hurts from inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-d-basham/pain-is-a-lifelong-fixture-in-a-broken-world-girl-all-of-us-need/) [Pepper D. Basham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-d-basham/) > [it is a serious thing // just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/it-is-a-serious-thing-just-to-be-alive-on-this-fresh-morning-in-this/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Like all of us, I was born for joy. This broken world, however, breaks most of us, grinding relentlessly on its metaled tracks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/like-all-of-us-i-was-born-for-joy-this-broken-world-however-breaks/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Delicate, gracious, and eloquent, John Brandi's poems reveal that he remains an extraordinary profound poet of prayer and praise. His is the most honorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-st-john/delicate-gracious-and-eloquent-john-brandi-s-poems-reveal-that-he/) [David St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-st-john/) > [We live in this irreparably broken world, and I don't wish to deny reality, but the amazing thing to me is not that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-live-in-this-irreparably-broken-world-and-i-don-t-wish-to-deny/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“A broken world promises a broken heart; we choose whether it's the result of selfishness or sacrifice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coe/a-broken-world-promises-a-broken-heart-we-choose-whether-it-s-the/) [Mike Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coe/) > [We want a word that always works,an easy solution,a quick fix.But some things is in broken world can't be fixed no matter what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/we-want-a-word-that-always-works-an-easy-solution-a-quick-fix-but/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) [Browse all 93 Broken world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mad Lib Elegy\" There are starving children left on your plate. There are injuries without brains. Migrant workers spend 23 hours a day removing tiny seeds from mixtures they cannot afford to smoke and cannot afford not to smoke. Entire nations are ignorant of the basic facts of hair removal and therefore resent our efforts to depilate unsightly problem areas. Imprisonment increases life expectancy. Finish your children. Adopt an injury. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back, I'm shooting everybody.' [line omitted in memory of_______] 70% of pound animals will be euthanized. 94% of pound animals would be euthanized if given the choice. The mind may be trained to relieve itself on paper. A pill for your safety, a pill for her pleasure. Neighbors are bothered by loud laughter but not by loud weeping. Massively multiplayer zombie-infection web-games are all the rage among lifers. The world is a rare case of selective asymmetry. The capitol is redolent of burnt monk. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back I'm shooting everybody.' [line omitted in memory of _______] There are two kinds of people in the world: those that condemn parking lots as monstrosities, ‘the ruines of a broken World,' and those that respond to their majesty emotionally. 70% of the planet is covered in parking lots. 94% of a man's body is parking lot. Particles of parking lot have been discovered in the permanent shadows of the moon. There is terror in sublimity. If Americans experience sublimity the terrorists have won. ‘I'm going to my car. When I get back I'm shooting everybody.' 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