“why i want to live in a different era” – spoken word 2019

Why I want to live in a different era than now

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity

But what happened to a time when

All you needed was a book and a cup of tea to be happy

But now you need an E book and a pink passionfruit lemonade tea to feel satisfied

What happened to reading a book and drinking down the words like wine upon your lips

When everything was more beautiful because we could see

Years of wisdom passed down from generation to generation in songs and stories read by a

crackling fire as you huddled around the warm hearth of a flame, can all now be found in a

minute

One click can replace a thousand priceless memories

What happened to a time when we used to run through open fields on a warm hazy afternoon?

The long blades of grass tickling against your legs

All the while the sun cradled you in its warmth

But now we run through fields digitally and we call it reality,

The warm sun that grew you in your youth is now your enemy

What happened to a time when we used to play a record

and let the music take us over and hold us like tree roots, spreading vastly in the ground?

When we used to dance like autumn leaves blowing in a comforting breeze

And sing like songbirds with not a care in the world but each other.

A time when we used to love

But now we need Spotify, to blare pointless cool words into our brain until we feel numb

We use the very thing, that was used to bring loved ones together,

To make them go away

because now people are considered your worst enemy

What happened to a time when we used to walk to the store

and turn it into a great adventure as we skipped along the swift sidewalk

hand in hand, laughing and breathing dreams as if they where air.

But now we click

And its delivered right to our door

A carboard box hallow and void of all life and love

Sitting as it whispers “this is happiness”

What happened to a time when we used to write?

Scrambling to find a piece of paper and a pen to pour out our dreams

Desperate to escape from our mind swimming with illusion

When we drank down poetry like it was the sweet nectar of life,

Illuminating our very souls

But now the words are short and pointless

The pen doesn’t move

And paper lays un-touched like a corpse in a crypt

Begging for life

Everything was more beautiful then

When the sun touched everything with its glittering light

Stretching down every vast alley and walkway

When forests where teaming with life,

And people showed love and compassion for everyone

And when you could walk down your street and your neighbour wasn’t a stranger

But a friend

But now our sun is clouded out by a wall we built around ourselves

And refuse to break down

Our forests are gone, struck down like soldiers on the front line

Now the only love we show is for ourselves

And the words of sweet wine are dried up and empty

The world was so much more beautiful then

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