All o'er their phones, all heads are bowed.
They walk and they ignore the crowd.
They stop to concentrate, ignore
The others, who, behind, before,
Protest "It should not be allowed!"
Sometimes they crash, minds in the cloud
Unknowing what is all around
In quest, as ever, but what for?
All o'er their phones.
With such as this they're now endowed,
Distracted, and of this quite proud,
As though someone were keeping score
Of how much data from the core
They have consumed, with all heads bowed
All o'er their phones.
Omg I LOVE this. People and phones drive me crazy you have encompassed such a classic sounding piece while appealing to a modern audience. Absolutely fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThis is so real. I love the phrase,"with all heads bowed" because we are definitely bowing to the false gods of technology when we are so wrapped up in our phones. What a great piece!
ReplyDeleteAwesome. We have certain lost our social etiquette with the advent of the mobile
ReplyDeleteI for one welcome the new religion of our mechanical overlords. Or not. I like this little analysis of the place and role of technology in human society. Religion, morals, etiquette...the times, they are a-changin', eh? I especially like that this didn't hit me over the head with moralization. In fact, I don't read it as even necessarily opposed to the behavior, but merely questioning it--it seems less a "STOP ACTING LIKE THIS, YOU DAMN FOOLS!" and more a serious consideration of why we do what we do (and I do mean "we"; I admit I've been that person lost in the world of data on the screen), and where that might lead, for better or for worse.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, Kate, one of the most enjoyable entries from FGC this week and one of my favorites from your own ever-expanding oeuvre.
--Travis
I appreciate technology as a tool, but many people are quite hooked and engrossed into technology. It drives me insane to be having a conversation, and someone is watching their phone and texting in the middle of it. People driving and on their phones drives me up the wall. (Almost got run into the concrete embankment of a bridge by a lady I knew, because she was on her phone and drifted into my lane.) People walk around as if they are glued to the damned things. It's like an umbilical chord feeding them constant data, and they are so afraid of missing something that comes through, they are content to miss the life that is happening around them. You capture this so brilliantly!
ReplyDelete