Not hand-cuffed to my iPad, my laptop or my phone

Though pretty much enslaved by them, without them I just groan
iPhone in my handbag – I’m confident and calm
Armed with it I feel I’ve got the whole world in my palm

A hostage to my gizmos to whom my soul is sold
I text and tweet and Instagram and must say I’m controlled
By “I-Stuff” that I itch to click at any given time
Even when I’m writing tapestry of ‘phoney’ rhyme

A digiholic to the core, I try to stave off sleep
And check my Facebook updates till l I hear my laptop bleep
Stifle several yawns before I browse the net and rush
To harvest crops on Farmville while playing Candy Crush

Unlike my learned Grand Dad, I’m just a swipe away
From checking out the distance from Shanghai to Santa Fe
In real-time, I’ll tell you what’s happening in Spain
Look up Jay-Z's lyrics or the price of Sugar Cane

All the same, I must confess my Smart phone’s made me dumb
Without it, I’ve no answer and I keep silent and mum
I cannot quote from Shakespeare or tell you why birds fly
I’m lost without dear Google - Distraught without Wi-Fi

I can’t access my suite of apps or post my latest pics
Keep up with Kardashians or surf for selfie sticks
I can’t find Grandma’s favourite psalm and try hard not to swear
Am truly at a loss for words and driven to despair

Like a muscle atrophied – my brain which is unused
Can’t crowdsource like my cell phone and soon it gets confused
Its thinking power diminished I’m dismally aware
That it cannot function better than a baby’s derriere

Unlike my Darling Grandmas whose lives were gadget-free
Who raised 8 kids without a sigh, I’m sure you will agree
Left to my devices, I’m anxious and distressed
Lost in a Data cesspool with which I am obsessed

And when I end up meeting folks who WhatsApp me each day
We “Zuckerverb” for some time and then don’t know what to say
A tragic paradox, I guess being upwardly mobile
We reach out for our phones once more and nonchalantly smile

Our tech-obsessed society has made us all belong
Much more to our cell phones and we just tag along
If Darwin was allowed a glimpse into our world he’d say
That you and me have “devolved” from the Human of his day

We’re more like ‘Phono Sapiens’ who need to stay unplugged
From Internet and 4 G cause we act like we are drugged
Like Zombies, we keep staring all day long into our palm
We need to learn to disconnect or else we’ll do more harm

With apps to mend a broken heart or tell you how to kiss
Something in the ‘Planet of the Phones’ has gone amiss
Apps for Appaholics too loaded with “Detalks”
To help us stay away from what I call ‘Pandora’s box’

The other day my soul mate of some twenty years and four
Caught me romancing my phone and noticed my heart soar
Every time “i-touched” my phone he saw me blush and smile
And wondered if I’d rather walked the cell phone down the aisle

I looked at him with disbelief and said he ought to know
I loved him more than Marilyn loved Joe DiMaggio
I launched into a tirade while I changed my profile pic
In Cyberland I told him Multi-tasking was the trick

Invading every realm of space – board room to the bed
Reclusive lonely folks are what Technology has bred
A graveyard lined with corpses – so self-absorbed and smug
Unhinged with Online Overdose – Let’s Live Life and unplug

In our nomophobic world, we don’t have time to stare
Like William Henry Davies and find beauty everywhere
It’s time to chill out with our friends and look up at the sky
Hear the rustle of the breeze and watch the butterfly.