Future Shock
Reliving every moment since it started,
the good, the bad, the downright pitiful mistakes
made by yours truly, wiser with age
through the journey of discovery.
Sadly, the other bearing the brunt of it,
no one is to blame if one chooses to witness
how they're turning out to be.
Too many years being told what to do,
not knowing oneself, to truly use one's faculties.
"I'll drink to that."
Look, red ball rolling down the hill.
"Let it be, child. It's going to rest against the wall!"
"It's past curfew, return indoors."
It all unfolded in snapshots.
One moment you'll own nothing and be happy.
"Cashless society."
Next, twenty-minute cities.
Electric cars were programmed to remain within the limits.
"Luxury on your doorstep with all you ever need in walking distance."
Thinking back for weeks on end, depending on the crisis, we'd be in...
"Lockdown?" It became the norm.
I swear they blamed it on the weather once.
"As they quietly constructed the wall."
Yes, that's right, the first time was those mobile towers,
G-something, can't quite remember now.
"You know the youngsters laugh at you when hearing those stories."
How their worlds have grown small, expressing their beliefs
on what may be on the other side, "Aliens alike."
There are no adventurers anymore; they're all acting like robots.
"Here comes the complaining." All due to the social rating.
Who has the best score?
"The sense of achievement when you give them digital recognition breaks my heart.
What are you going to do?"
It's never been my place to tell others how to live.
I just remember the joy it was to be young, no care in the world,
free to explore.
"We only got ourselves to blame. I just want to be comfortable."
Too late to realize...
"Well, here's to health and happiness,
with still the freedom to think."
"Technological advancement,"
at the cost of common sense.
"We are the resistance."
Copyright ©
Lee Norton
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