Plugged In

Plugged In

I sit here at my desk under the pale glow of a lamp
Lighting my keyboard as I type and click, exploring this world.
Weather and sports, music, games and books are now available at a tap.
The world is at our fingertips; all news the good, bad unfurled.

The post office cringes at the thought of our connection across continents
As we send correspondence via e-mail, receive and pay bills on-line.
Packages are sent in the form of on-line gift certificates.
Acquaintances are made and our worlds brush as we transcend the landline.

We interact through this box of chips and wire we call the computer.
I am hidden away from everyone, under the alias of a screen name
Yet in plain sight for the world to see if they ask a little further.
But, am I who I say I am? The pictures I’ve posted, are they really me?

Every aspect of our life can now be attached in some way or another
Our jobs, schools, TVs, games, cameras, phones and even sex can be on-line.
We have now come to depend on the Internet to link us together.
We pay to keep our computer safe as we let our own health go into decline.

We now need firewalls to shield our computers from intruders.
Hundreds of dollars spent on anti-virus, spam and pop-up protection
Keeping our computers from being injected with trojans worms and others.
Thousands spent on the software used daily for a complete connection.

But what if the Internet crashes and the screens go blank?
Back to square one, waiting for information and communications.
We would have to stop and think, “Where is the obsolete and relic”?
As they have their laugh, our lives would depend on their connections.

*Shelly Huntsman*