POETRY PROMPT: COMMUNICATION

Every teacher I had said, "Think before you speak."
Write only about what you know
Now, I wonder if I just start talking, or writing
Whose friend won't I be any more?

You don't have to say all that pops into your head
You don't have to write down every thought
There is such a thing as discretion, and
Some sacred things
Should just stay as they ought

What have we become?
Are we really communicating?
Are we friendly and sweet,
Or cowardly and mean?

Do we no longer care

Are our words now so useless

Reckless, tiring

And grossly obscene?

I want to hear an actual voice
I want to look into eyes that are real
I want to feel and communicate
Not always have to decipher 

Meanings you've tried to conceal

I don't want to see colons; parentheses
I want to see a real smile

Are we really in such a hurry these days

Will we not see real words for a while?

There's really nothing like human interaction
There's so much that you, too, can convey
Have abbreviations, emoticons, and our new gadgets
Left us scrambling for real words to say?

Every teacher I had said "Think before you speak"
Now I'm speaking
I hope that today
We'll all take a little time from the keyboard
And greet loved ones and friends, face to face