A rumble of laughter not from an LOL in an SMS
but a sound from a breathless child
running in a field
not scrolling through a feed

two friends sharing secrets
in a hide out only known by two
not hiding behind a barricade
clear yet mystifies the truth

I see you smiling in front of me
As you share old stories
And dreams of what’s to come
I don’t face a pixelated picture
As I try to communicate
Face to face?
Or face to screen
Or share winky faces
As you tease me
while sitting in a room two doors down

What happened to the times when
We were connected by the strokes of the words on paper
Or the moments captured by film
And not destroyed by a single glitch of a cellular phone

There’s a ring to my name as you call
A melody in your voice
But now
since when have IM ever been better than calling a name
with your voice
we know people more by the click of a finger
than a stroke of a hand
and from 140 words
in an app
expected to chirp our secrets like songs of birds
sung to everyone

We see connection
As the strength of the wifi at the corner of our screens
Dreams are shared with every retweet and reblog
Shared to strangers
Who care about you?
Or care about the amount of followers or likes you get
Of a picture you do not own
Of an experience you have never done
Or maybe yet to do

life is not as beautiful through a screen
it is not about those minutes you spend
clicking that play button
you cannot fast forward or rewind the wasted time
sitting and waiting
as the video loads
just so
YOU
Can live their life

I sit in front of a camp fire
Hearing laughters from every side
Smiles brightening in the dark
What happened to these nights out?
the fun nights where the stars and moon were the only light source
and not the screen of the 3G phone
or when beauty was only experienced and not captured

It was different then,
It was pure then,
It was kind, sweet, new, romantic,
It was good,
Peach lotion,
Distant trees,
Close enough to catch,
Cats, dogs, rats, snakes,
We were part of the world then,
A small part,
But we were in it.
What do we have now?
Nothing but plastic in hand,
Put your shoes on,
Put your virtual toy away,
And,
Enjoy the air,
While there is air to enjoy.

I have seen couples,
So far from each—
Other, on a platform,
Waiting for the next train,
Never touching, yet how
They ****** their mobile
Devices, how softly, sweet,
Without guile nor agenda
They swipe the glass—
As it swoons back in return
With blue lights and alerts,
So dearly needed and answers,
In way words for the machines
Of flesh and the ghost within,
With such personal aplomb
In real notifications of text
And instant message.

I have seen couples,
So far from each—
Other, on a platform,
Waiting for the next train,
Never touching, yet how
They ****** their mobile
Devices, how softly, sweet,
Without guile nor agenda
They swipe the glass—
As it swoons back in return
With blue lights and alerts,
So dearly needed and answers,
In way words for the machines
Of flesh and the ghost within,
With such personal aplomb
In real notifications of text
And instant message.

I've been asked
More times than I
Could even begin to count
Why I would carry
A notebook and pen
With me always

Why do I so often
Spend hours writing
With my neck bent
Awkwardly for so long
And why ink and paper
Instead of a computer

I suppose it's because
The texture of a worn notebook
With crumbled pages
And ink stains
Seems to make my words
Feel incredibly valuable

Technology, though useful
Makes everything feel
"Watered down"
But for me books make
the world and all words
Feel brand new

i dangle my feet over the edge of hell.
i'll never do it,
but i wonder if i will ever be able to braid my hair by myself
tie my shoes
smile like a two year-old who thinks cookies are the purpose of having teeth and a tongue

if i search in darkness, i will surely find despair
and there is a cellphone light glowing in my face
as i write this
so i should pursue this happiness
this temporary thrill i get from internet existence

Did you see what you've become? A consumer of the world,
A lover of those shows for those who long to just be heard.
A breather of the air, so dense, that we can barely see,
A taker of whatevers going, items presumed to set you free.

Did you see what you've become?A product of someone else,
A replica of her or him, a never ending image of the self.
A who, a what, a where, a when, a constant reflection of them.
Don't forget to become what you said you would, be what you ought to be.

Did you see yourself on the screen? I did, on every last page.
A happy, adventurous side of you - no different from the masses.
When did you stop playing the lead, settling for backstage?
Just when social hierarchy is becoming archaic you construct divergent classes.

You are more than you think, you are who you are,
You are the person they want to see.

these days everywhere you look
people have their noses in their phones
and while some believe its because this generation is so obsessed with technology--
I think that's shallow and ignorant.

we wouldn't feel the need to hide our faces behind our phones typing out paragraph messages if we were happy,
and close to the people we want to talk to, and
if we weren't having every experience by ourselves or around people we don't know past their home town and major.

we're all going places we feel we need to go
but we're going alone
and these little pieces of distancing technology
is the only thing that keeps up together.