The Age of Vicarious Living

. . . And it suddenly struck me,
Sitting downstairs in the midnight hour--
Silence. . .
A sudden Shriek in the distance--
A train whining in the darkness,
Pushing along a predetermined route.
Silence. . .
A sudden epiphany shrieking through my mind--
It is all around me
--Surrounded--

De-
Tached. . .

Vicariously living on a shelf,
Within a screen,
Through a speaker. . .

Living someone else's lyrics,
Watching someone else's life,
Reading someone else's thoughts. . .

A consumer nation
Recycling originality--
[Repackaged]
Seemingly new,
Regrettably old.
We've sacrificed the best of us--
Mere convenience.
Comatose in a sheltered sphere,
Living Vicariously. . .

--Brett Hall
August 19, 2009