April 19, 2011

magic buttons

The new phone arrived today and I have been lost
among its blips and beeps, the bright colors of its touch pad,
the endless applications and downloads and a host
of tools to keep my life in check. Just like that, the world
comes barreling forward, with news and directions and movie clips,
heart rate monitors and calorie counters, the weather in Tokyo.
If I want, I can buy a new couch on Craigslist, and a troll of my fingertips
brings me to the balance of my bank account. But where do I go
to find my real way, that compass pointing how and where and when.
There are no shortcuts, no magic buttons, for the work of looking in.