Days of Innocence

Poem about days gone by.

I remember playing
With cans and a string
A game called Telephone
Pretending it would ring.

We'd talk like "grown ups"
Then laugh and giggle
As our ears were tickled
And the line would jiggle.

All the neighborhood kids
Would gather 'round
To take their turn;
Be maturity bound.

Now we don't talk
'Cept with our thumbs
Tapping and clicking
Until they are numb.

We rarely ever use
The sound of our voices
Technology bestows
Upon us those choices.

Gimme simpler times
When we'd interact
Days of innocence
Where lives were unhacked.

Author's Note

Please give an overall review on this poem. **Only us "oldies" may be able to appreciate it. Thank you!

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I want the old days too.
"Gimme simpler times
When we'd interact
Days of innocence
Where lives were unhacked."
I miss the days of conversation, holding hands and no cell phones. Thank you Melissa for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Coyote Poetry. It's kind of sad that my grandchildren will never know life without cell phones attached to their ears or fingers and playing silly little outside games in the fresh air because they are too wrapped up in video games. Socialization will not be a thing for them.

[Coyote Poetry]

We must make the kids go to the park and spend time with us. If we don't. We will hold regret we didn't and you are welcome.

[Unknown Poet]

Very true this made me to remember my childhood..... *Smiles*

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Uday. I appreciate you reading and commenting.

[Unknown Poet]

My pleasure... *Smiles*

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

Yes it is really sad how we don't interact very often with others, just text or message somehow. This is nice in some cases, but nothing replaces face to face and secretly if not openly we all crave face to face interactions over online or texting. Just enjoying someone talk and laugh together is such a wonderful feeling, I miss spending time with others like that, it always lifts my heart when I have those chances! I think the more you focus on online and texting communications than face to face, you are more prone to feel lonelier faster, at least that's how it gets to me lol Thankfully I know I am never alone, but it is still good for us to interact in person with others.

Great Job

[MelissaAndres]

Peace Keeper, Very well said! By nature, I consider myself to be very shy (although I am better than I used to be) so sometimes I am fine with just texting and "hiding" behind the computer but after awhile, I do crave wanting to be with other people. Church activities help that a lot. I don't think we were made to be shut off from one another. We need fellowship. Glad you enjoyed!

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

^^ Thanks! Yes I am pretty much the same way, I like having alone time but I do like being around others even if I don't talk a lot, I guess it just depends on my mood lol Yes Church activities or other activities you can find is a great help. No we are not made to be shut off from people, we need fellowship in order to grow and thrive. :)

[Celie Rose]

"Now we don't talk, We rarely ever use
The sound of our voices' Cept with our thumbs, Gimme simpler times."
I really liked this poem...took me back to a time I once knew. Well written. Keep writing.

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, Celie Rose! Yes, my husband and I used to comment on how people always have their heads down and rarely talk to each other anymore .... and now we are getting into that same routine that everyone else is in. Sometimes I have to force myself to get off my phone and actually make eye contact. Technology is great but sometimes it can suck you in and suck the humanity right out of you!

[Autumn Lyric]

I think I commented on that same fact in another review, where nowadays we spend a lot of time disconnecting ourselves from the intimacy of communication; face to face interaction. the advancement of technology can bring progress in many advantageous ways, but it nullifies the human condition that we naturally crave as compassionate human beings: the association of others, the nuances that are naturally there and unhindered... bring back the good old days, indeed!! Loved this write!

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, LaShaye! I have a seasonal craft business and I attend craft fairs selling snowmen. I have a giveaway after each fair and have people fill out a form if they want to have their name possibly drawn. I send out a thank you card to each person who stops at my booth. People are often amazed that I do that because everything is either by email or nothing at all. I just like having that bit of "old-fashioned" touch when dealing with potential customers.

[annalysiar]

This is good short and sweet

[MelissaAndres]

Thank you, annalysiar!

[wordman]

you left out the button that was inside the can,it helped to hold it
we need technology,we just need to learn to be human as well

[MelissaAndres]

Oh yes, technology does help in our everyday lives, wordman. If it weren't for technology my husband wouldn't have a job! And, I SO agree with you that we need to learn to be human. I am guilty of playing games on my phone too much like a lot of people but when a room full of people are doing it, not even looking up to make eye contact -- that's pretty bad. Been there!

[wordman]

i own a construction company.a mom and pop if you will
i still do everything the old fashioned way.use a computer ( barely ) use my phone for talk,text and some pictures and gps,never play games on it! but the generation were in now is entirely different

[MelissaAndres]

I have a seasonal craft business and I will use the laptop to keep email addresses in, different websites that I use to order certain supplies from and to print out different forms but I don't rely heavily on it because my crafts are handmade. It just basically helps me keep track of things but I am definitely NOT technologically advanced. My husband is in IT and he knows stuff that he could show me a million times but I just won't absorb. I have a few games on my phone that I like to play but I would rather read to tell you the truth. Once I catch up and get myself organized again after my recent events I will start writing again too.

[wordman]

my wife sells new items,had a small shop but it got robbed twice so now she flea markets
we keep track of all her suppliers on the computer.lol i still type with one finger,and can not watch the screen when i type

[MelissaAndres]

Wow! Hate her shop got robbed. I bet that was really scary! I can type fairly fast but I learn things through the 'hunt and peck' method. Haha!

[alifeacoustic]

smiley face :)
insert emoji of choice and reply without the need for any of that bothersome thought stuff getting in the way. I'm glad I'm old enough not to care about trying to keep up any more. I don't know or care who is number one, I don't know or care what the latest phone is and I don't know or care who the latest non celebrity said, promoted, went, done or dated (delete as appropriate)
Am I the only person on the planet looking forward to old age? Please stop the world and let me off.
Nicely done Melissa, looking back to when only birds tweeted.

[MelissaAndres]

Haha, alifeacoustic! I love your last sentence! My husband and I didn't get cell phones until 2007 and they were the tiny flip-type. We kept those for seven years until we finally got a better model. They certainly aren't anything top of the line. And, I am certainly not into celebrity blah, blah, blah ..... I can't say I am looking "forward" to old age myself but I'm heading that direction quickly. I don't think I will really mind it ... much. :)

[Philip Muls]

Simpler times indeed. Tired of technology we are. Well done. Appealing to peace and quite in all of us.

[MelissaAndres]

Yes, Philip. Technology can be a great thing but we cannot let it rule our lives. I long for those simpler days more often than not.

[Samuel Dickens]

Amen to that, Melissa! That tapping and clicking is going to have a very bad effect on the human race, I'm completely sure. Just the other day, a friend's daughter was fiddling with her #*% phone when she just drove right off the road and totaled her car.

[MelissaAndres]

Oh my! I hope she is okay! I am not a very good driver in the first place so I never talk on the phone or text while driving. If it's something really important I will pull over into a parking lot as to not potentially injure myself or those around me!