Etiquette

Gone are the days
of please and thank yous
how's your days
hand shakes
opened doors
and completed chores.
Face­-to-­face has become passé.
There's a different set of pleasantries
in this our 21st century.

Now we feel put upon
when asked to put away our phones.
If, at an intimate dinner,
a friend were to chastise us
for checking Facebook or Instagram
we would be incensed.
For the real is nothing
when compared to voyeuristic viewing
of others documenting doing.

Our marvelous and modern age
is filled with stuff.
But for all the screens
the clicks and likes
the hits and pics
it is a hollow distraction,
no substitute for human interaction.
Connection is not made with wires
but hand to hand, heart to heart-
an expression of desire.