I can’t keep up with the rapidity of
Smart Phones and Bit-Fit Watches
so
I’m empty wristed and void of clutch
abandoning the world of technology and rush
hurtling without break down San Fransisco streets
 
remember the days when
we took summer vacation?
not fearful of boss or observing every text?
remember when
the phone did not ring late at night
unless it was about death
or
wake us at first light with impatient query
colleagues who
may get to work before you
stealing your slot before you knew what you lost
 
remember when
you ate a warm breakfast, read the paper
talked to your kids
stroked the dog
noticed the door needed a new paint job
revelled in the glory of Sunday mornings
not getting out
of a deep filled bed
arms and feet and legs
splayed
 
remember when
guilt
panic
and shame
anxiety with a twist of lime
in the gut
did not become
the drink du jour nor
were cocktails and dinner parties so rare
for now we walk among penitents who cannot abhor
excess
 
remember when
you had time for yourself?
it was not a surprise looking in the mirror
seeing how years had passed
how long it had been since you touched or were touched
lain in the bath with the lights off
 
now
you feel the rapid beat
of your heart beneath your sweat proof deodorized clothes
you feel the burn in your gut
of coffee on partially eaten stomach
you feel the rush
you feel the senselessness
and friends you have no time for
and family are strangers
and the dog that barks in the night
is you
crying out
 
muzzled and penned by day
you sit at your desk reading online about
why sitting too long will
kill
and how important it is
to make time
time? You say
what is time?
I know not how to capture it
but I can – if you ask
always tell you how to find
another minute to check
my digitized semblance
of life