Home » Poems » Ilene Bauer » I Couldn't Live

I Couldn't Live

I couldn’t live without A/C
Though people all through history
Made do with fans or else before,
They sweated through the clothes they wore.

I’d hate to live without my phone;
Attached to it I’ve somehow grown
Though I’ve survived, let’s not forget,
When it was not invented yet.

I wouldn’t want to live without
The wheels that take me all about,
For without car or bus or train,
I’d feel so stuck I’d just complain.

I’m glad I never had to live
Without appliances that give
The means to keep us clean and fed,
Allowing us to get ahead.

I’m grateful that these things exist
Though we can’t know what we’ll have missed
By living in this current age
Before the future turns the page.

appreciationrhyme

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Terry Flood

Date: 7/9/2025 5:10:00 AM

That last stanza, Ilene, could have come straight out of my own head. Heaven only knows what gadgets and gizmos there will be in even twenty years time. Perhaps it’s best that we don’t know. Thoroughly enjoyed this write, Ilene…. Spot on for most of us I would think.

Gershon Wolf

Date: 7/8/2025 8:30:00 PM

These 'conveniences' are now absolutely mandatory, aren't they? Although myself, I don't have a smart phone, GPS, I-Pad, don't appear on social media, etc. Life is good, Gershon P.S. Got a/c at age 47. How I lived without it beforehand, only God knows. lol.

Jan Allison

Date: 7/8/2025 3:42:00 PM

We do take these things for granted now Ilene, would be fabulous to time travel even just 20 years into the future as see how technology has evolved once more. hugs Jan xx

Kim Rodrigues

Date: 7/8/2025 3:18:00 PM

We all get used to our own time. I agree. It would be hard to live without. Sometimes we get a small taste when we lose electricity or an appliance breaks down.