Hope Never Rests

While looking for a bridge to cross over tonight Connecting time honored values to internet blight I thought and I pondered, as I surfed on the net But the things that it offers are sadly abject Where is the laughter, the thrill of the chase Through forest and meadow, with all of your mates Gone is the connection, looking eye into eye Replaced now with distance, and its virtual lie The children are programmed, their bits and their bytes With screens the new playgrounds, their couches—their life Where all of this leads, I’m fearful to know As I look for that bridge, where our youth can still go To return from the chaos, to a welcoming time Where friendships were made, in a tree you just climbed But the harder I search, the dimmer it gets Quicksand reinvented, their souls it collects Though cards stack against me, I remain on my quest The young are still worth it, —and hope never rests (Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2017)