Heads all Empty

Am I boring you?

yes, you, young lady, with your face buried in your phone. 
digital screen queen, 
head all empty and you don't care. 
Am I interrupting you and that digital courtship with the man of your dreams, 
please forgive me for interrupting the High School experience with a book. 

Just in case you did not know there are millions of things that have happened before you were here. 
There have been millions of people here before you. 
They too had passions beyond sneakers and a fancy phone. 

There is more to the world than digital interaction, 
far be it from me to expect any kind of civil interconnection. 

Are these misunderstandings only generational?
Or, 
is it just your inability to be realtional? 

I can't help but notice how much goes right by you, 
indeed, right under your nose, 
how the world spins and you stay right where you are, 
unaware, 
unable to see, 
quiet in the face of dealy riots, 
unaware, even of why we exist.

Them, with their heads all empty and their lips so full, 
carefully avoiding any push and pull. 

Heads all empty, 
eyes that stare at nothing, 
wanting everything, 
giving nothing, 
bubbling in tests, 
no one learning anything, 
asking stupid questions, 
never getting answers, 
heads all empty, 
mouths full of gossip, 
with pointed words, 
shot like arrows that land on soft spots and broken hearts, 
beating hearts and shiny eyes, 
that look to a bland future, 
all the time unaware of what will be coming their way, 
made harder and harder, 
documented by full lip selfies, 
painted and see with unseeing eyes. 

Unseeing eyes, 
empty heads, 
full lips, 
and muffled cries. 

T. S. Deary 
2/9/24