"the new god, Technology"

It seems we're becoming a world 

isolated from meaningful touch. 

I remember writing reams of pages 

on oh so delicately scented, 

tastefully detailed stationary… 

There was a texture and 

a weight to the pages, to the words 

that seem lost now on a screen. 

Making the trip to the mailbox 

to turn up that little red flag, 

there for everyone to see…

Telling the world I’m here…

Letting the postman know 

that there was a letter… 

An important correspondence 

by him to be delivered

When he’d gone… pay attention!

The flag had been put down!

I remember receiving letters… 

Pages in which life was poured out, 

penned to share a connection… 

Feeling so grown-up, so special… 

Important enough for someone 

to have taken that time for me. 

I miss that… don’t you?

I miss the sending and receiving.

Something has been lost… 

Something important… tangible…

Something indefinably precious 

has been sacrificed 

on the alter of a new god… 

Of the god… Technology.

by D. Denise Dianaty

Author's Note

Inspired by MusicMania's poem, "I Exist In A Time."

Reviews

[The Black Warrior]

Hahaha, I was waiting for someone to write something like this! there is no more face to face communication and as an IT student I know what that means. Yet, I still write my homework instead of typing it. And when I want to send a thank you letter, I write it down, not type it out. I enjoy it!

[MomzillaNC]

Same here. There's just something about the tactile sensations that make your connections real.

[Frieda P]

Haven't read her poem but I will definitely do so when I have more time. I still buy exquisite stationary and write letters, people are so much more appreciative of a scripted handwritten letter than an email...it takes more time but so worth the effort, I kneel to the gods of technology only because it's so much more convenient but when it suits my whim to get up close and personal, I skip that mass entirely....point taken, you've graced our computer screens so aptly.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. I still write letters and exchange cards at holidays and birthdays. But, fewer and fewer people return the gesture. So, I find myself sending out fewer and fewer hand-written correspondences. About the only thing in my mail box is junk mail. Even my bills are electronically delivered now.

[Frieda P]

Yes, I hear you, nothing worse than those pre-printed xmas cards!

[MomzillaNC]

Actually, I haven't a problem wight the pre-printed cards. But, I do write a letter to be included. And, none of that copied form letter crap! I use the cards as the cover for the letter. I want cards. I used to line my mantle and halls with them, and hang some no the tree. I don't receive enough now to even make a deliberate decorating statement.

[Frieda P]

Not much sentiment in those cards, they probably had someone else attach the stamps....you're so write, the amount of impersonal xmas cards I receive now, they could really take the time to at least sign their names.

[MomzillaNC]

Well, the ones I do still receive are signed and usually include a hand-written letter, and even photos. But, I did used to receive quite a lot of those with only a signature. I can't say I ever received one so impersonal as to be left unsigned.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This is so true of many aspects of this technological age. I still prefer "snail mail" to e-mail...the more personal touch is there...and then there's the expense of postage...but seeing something written in lines by another's hand...not a keyboard with auto-correct and Word Perfect on paper that actually touched their hand has a magical sense to it.

[MomzillaNC]

Thanks you. I absolutely agree. Don't get me wrong… I think technology is a tremendous boon in our lives. I just wish we wouldn't abandon the tactile aspect of real community. That's what grounds us and gives us a true sense of belonging and worth, I think.

[MusicManiac]

Wow, this truly was like your comment! I already told you how much I agree with everything you've said, but it's always magical to read your writing. In a sense, if technology wasn't so widespread, we'd never get to use a site like this! So for exposing me to others such as yourself with a passion for writing, I am thankful :)

I enjoyed reading this!
~MusicManiac

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you.

I know what you mean. Technology makes so much possible. I just wish we, as a society, would recognize that not everything old should be abandoned.