This perplexing behemoth,
this vast connection with the world
this monster which can enlarge your understanding,
but can also make you its slave
quickly entangling you
as it steals hours from your day
hobbling your body
as you forget to get up and move
even after you promise yourself
that this time…
you will not spend
more than a few moments
to check for a message
or send a quick note of thanks.
This entity
this link, this liaison
this friend, this thief
this awful tool
this astonishing connection
this miracle
this thing that we did not even imagine
just a few years ago.
I have friends who refuse
to touch a computer
who seem to resent its invention
and stubbornly stick their decision
to live without it
even when their children
who live in distant cities
want to send them photos of their babies.
Tonight, I realized that I do not even have
an actual photo of little Isabella
to display in a frame.
A visitor to my home would not even realize
that this little girl existed
if I did not take them over to the computer
to show them her dear little face.
There is only one or two of her beautiful mother.
The photos of my family
show them all much younger
than their present age
and I am too lazy to redo it
to bring it all up to date.
Instead, I go to the laptop
to check for messages
to see if anything new
has been added to our family news.
And so I find myself sitting
without moving anything
but my fingers
as my new knee stiffens up
and my mind turns a bit more into jelly.
But tonight,
through the worldwide connection of computers,
I got a call first from Hong Kong,
then one from Vietnam,
and a poem from Maya
whom I’ve never actually met in person.
Then I found out that my son, Mike,
is demonstrating his new flux capacitor
so maybe we are about to travel
back and forth into time
Now I am posting these thoughts
in this most public forum for anyone
who might accidentally link to this site to read.
Quite amazing!