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“How are you today?” “I’m fine and you?” This is the socially acceptable mantra We all say this, Whether our hearts are breaking Through some love affair gone wrong Or we’ve just heard we have Only three months more to live. No one wants to hear The honest truth. I’m feeling so bad I can hardly stand. My youngest daughter was charged With attacking a pensioner. The cat has leukaemia. My mother has dementia. And my husband has gambled Away our life savings. Maybe we don’t know How to talk to one another any more. Wood panel fencing marks out The boundaries between semis. Children eat in their bedrooms And text message their friends. Mothers rush home from work And dig in the freezer for tea. Don’t we know how to talk To one another any more? The bus stop conversations Are few and far between. If you must queue, don’t talk To your neighbour. Why is this? Are we all so afraid of attackers? Or maybe it’s the mobile phone Clamped to the ear, which prevents Outside interference. Maybe we don’t need to talk To one another any more. You can make new friends Over the Internet, Or watch reality TV, To see what you are missing. Kids have computer games. And we all watch SKY TV, Don’t we? How can we live Such a meaningless existence? Before you know it, Books will be rare objects, Cookery and sewing, long dead skills. We are all the slaves of progress. “How are you today?” “I’m fine and you?”
24th July 2002
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