In A Quandary

In a quandary.  In a pickle.
Temptation and dependency;
Enslaved by self-indulgence;
Keenness that becomes a blend
Of day’s beginning and day’s end.

On the bus, inside the car,
Telephone beside the ear;
Walking, talking to yourself? Oh no,
It’s talking to a god-knows-who
For god-knows-why.

Am I the only person
Riled by this phenomenon?
Addiction to diversion
In the guise of help and benefit?
Yes, even these can dig the pit
Of hell-p-less-ness.
Information, facts mind-blowing, quick.
Fascination and allurement on a stick.

Having learned some new found tricks -
Heartening, supportive pick-me-ups,
One notices, (I notice) that the
‘Pickle’ quickly trickles down
Into those risky parts of vanity,
Its need for company
And other longings.

Frisky sports who gaily own
Desktops, laptops, Ipads, smart phones…
Know what I talk about:
Joy that takes you from yourself
While telling you it is yourself:

Programs, sites and violent games,
Interaction with big names –
Presidents and criminals -
All their problematic schemes:
Everything’s on board for every sort:
The bored, the interested, the scared.
The strong, the undecided: snared.

A sticky, tricky, muddled mess,
A sanctuary become quandary:
Game of chess and source of stress
And one we seldom choose to harness;
Goodness!
Can one win it?
I’m not sure.  I’m in it.

In A Quandary 7.26.2017
Our Times, Our Culture II; Circling Round Reality;
Arlene Corwin