Poem: The Privilege of Time
A poem about the alleged death of friendship.
A guy in an Uber says
friendship is over; outdated concept.
No one has any time for it.
I understand how truly online
we are, I have very strong friendships
with people I’ve never met.
My folks can never underestand that.
They met their friends pouring concrete
in the neighbourhood, making scones,
and babysitting. This would progress
to night-school cooking classes, dinner
parties, even trips shared overseas.
My best friends that know me to my core,
are people I’ve known since I was 14, or 12,
even four — in at least one case.
But I totally get that when you access
almost everything from your phone or
computer, you friend is actually the gadget,
the tablet; the people and services you
are connected to, just apps. That’s sad,
but also not unreasonable. The boomers
might tell you that you should be out there
making scones and mending literal fences,
but who has the time for that these days?
So friendships are outmoded — they
are a privilege, one we can’t always
pay for with our time.
Thought provoking!