I was at a coffee shop in Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine neighborhood, mid week a couple of days ago and found it interesting that literally everyone was plugged into a computer. Of course, like everything, I could find the pros and cons of people primarily communicating with people not in the room. But I don’t want to talk about positives and negatives, I just want to observe. Here’s a poem about what I saw.
Plugged In
The last thing he said out loud was, “yes.”
To the question, “skim, right?”
He did not say “thank you”
When his latte was placed in front of him
Opting instead for a nod of the head
By that time he had plugged himself
Into his computer
He was working
Thinking
Cyber-communicating
He was not alone
Here, every seat was taken
Everyone was sipping on an
Individually made artisanal drink
And, everyone had taken up
With his own personal device
They were all in it together
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 