by MELODY BARROWS
The touch of a button answers all of life’s wonders.
Ever present, a passage taking me away from my troubles,
the screen light entices me to leave my familiar surroundings.
I can travel the world, be an astronaut, meet Michelangelo,
But I lose track of time…and reality.
Engrossed in a fantasy that will never be,
I look up from my little black box and see
the world that has changed all around me.
The time of family dinners and game nights are gone,
lost to the mini realities of conjured dreams.
My dad’s, mom’s, sister’s brother’s faces,
unnaturally glued to their black reflective screens,
a digital connection to the cumulative human experience,
results in family time being a silent meal.
A common journey through the looking glass
creates the illusion that socializing is real.