Poem: The Half-life Haunts Me (haiku in 21 variations)

Face to face is gone
except when it’s not chosen
work, school and prisons

Cafes are empty
libraries house the homeless 
tiny shops are closed

Monopoly time
but it’s not a children’s game
corporate greed’s real

I blame Hollywood 
the music industry and
the politicians 

Generations groomed
to choose cold plastic metal
artificial gloom

Futuristic doom
Star Wars and ET brainwash
that’s how they trained us

Prefer bleak futures
instead of the actual 
nature lost our heart

Social media
is isolation hidden
digital prison 

Paranoia fuels
anxiety and mistrust 
comparison lust

False validation 
popularity contests
we’ve become islands

Which version is real?
polished public personas
weeping privately 

Insecurities 
camouflage real with makeup
hide your friendlessness

Orbital strangers 
behind the black mirror’s gaze
we’re computer slaves

AI girlfriend craze
mail order robot surprise 
cyborg blushing brides

Can we reverse time?
use typewriters and landlines
skateboards, spin records

Ink pens gliding smooth
cursive dips and layered loops 
dreamed thoughts on paper

I’m lost in mourning 
blinking cursor taunts my eyes
artificial ghost cursing

Terminator hum
data center drones
suicides our world

So they distract us
with everything but the truth
ADD culture 

Pokémon tv
WWF
media vultures

the half life haunts me
the elusive memory 
the treasures we lost