Nowadays..

by Eby

You know,
I have heard many a times from the earlier generation,
Lines and lines of biographies and histories,
Beginning with
“In those days..”

A whole list of things
Which they retrieve with pride,
Just to show
How much the present generation
Is different from them.
True, really true!

Compared to their, “In those days..”
Where is our, “Nowadays”?

We, the present generation
Are playing chess on-line,
One in Toronto, the other in Colombo,
Just to prove how far away we are.

We belong to the space, called Skype
Where most relationships begin and end.
Facebook has become our testimony ground,
And E-mail accounts, our treasuries.

Husband sends an SMS to his wife “Good night”,
Who is relaxing in the next room.
When four friends meet for supper at a table,
They do not talk much.
Instead, they are busy checking many others’ status,
Using the GPRS in their i-phones.

We have become equipped with Bluetooth, Infra-red and Wi-Fi,
Send and receive pictures and smutty jokes freely.
But still, we struggle to know and understand each other.

The old man in that corner
Is surprised to see a young fellow
Who smiles at a mini screen in his palm
And laughs and shouts through two wires connected to his ears.

Surely, there seems to be
A Vast Difference
Between,
Their “In those days..”, and
Our “Nowadays”.