OMG! It has happened.
I was on campus last week to speak on Haiku poetry in one of the classes. I stopped the teacher who was accompanying me.
“Listen, “ I said. “It is soooo quiet. I don’t hear any human voices.”
We were not alone. There were students all around me but I heard no human voices. They were attached to their electronic devices, strolling toward their destination. It was like being in a zombie movie with shadows of human beings walking all around me in silence. I felt the creep.
At the coffee shop, I observed couples at a table, but couldn’t even eavesdrop to their conversations because there were none. Maybe I’m too late with this poem I’ve shared before:
To Children of the 21st Century
How do you keep your fingers so free of dirt?
How do you come in from play without
Mud on your feet, your clothes, your cheeks?
How do you not even sweat?
How do you speak without giving eye contact
To the person sitting in front of you?
How do you spend time with your friend
Without conversation?
Oh Children of the 21st Century,
Why is there silence in a room filled
With family on this holiday?
How did you become so mute?
Do you know how rain feels
Soaking your shirt to your skin?
The smell of sea salt in your hair
After a dip in the sea?
Have you watched a little seed
Pushing its first breath
Out of soil you’ve patted down
A few weeks ago?
Can you see a cardinal, a mynah,
A crow, with your eyes closed, listening
To their signature songs they sing out to you
In your own back yard?
Do you know the feel of your grandpa’s grip
Warm and strong in your hand?
The story behind that long scar that runs
The length of his arm?
Do you carry memories
Of your grandma’s smiles
Each time you had said,
Hi Grandma. Can I help you?
Do you ever count clouds, lying
On soft green grass, laughing
Over silly stuff shared with a friend?
Do you ever cry over a child starving
In Africa or in your neighborhood?
Feel upset over trees being cut
For freeways and shopping malls,
Fancy sports arenas?
Have you ever used the eraser
At the end of a pencil,
Writing a poem, a song, a story.
A thank you note?
Do you know the feel of crisp
New pages of a book, as they unfold
Moving plots, faster than your impatient
Fingers can follow your eyes?
Oh, Children of the 21st Century,
How did you become so dead?
From Dangerous Woman: Poetry for the Ageless by
frances h kakugawa
Frances Kakugawa's Blog 
Bingo! You hit it on the nail perfectly!! 🤓
Sent from my iPhone
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Check this out with your grandkids. In China, over use of electronic devices is considered a medical illness and they are being treated as such. Some of the kids shown were terrifying with glassy robotic eyes.
Magnificent, accurate and insightful. I fear for this next generation.
Oh don’t be silly. Of course we do all of those things. Why take counting clouds for example. There’s nothing to it. We just point our phone at the sky and click! its done. I have an app that can automatically count them, more than you ever can, laying their on your back and foolishly waving your arms and pointing at nothing with your fingers. Count them instantly. Talk? you want talk? We see you there, blabbing away even though no one is really listening. We’re too busy chatting about ourselves. So we just nod and smile as if we know what moving your lips is all about. But frankly I don’t see the point, unless it has something to do with exercising your facial muscles and keeping your skin smooth. Really, there’s nothing to worry about. We remember lots of stuff. I have gigabytes of memory with everything from where I was at 3:18:31.06 on July 26, 1884 to what I wore last Saturday. I don’t forget anything, except where I put my mobile phone, sometimes. Any way, I can’t be much bothered with remembering things, I’m too busy adding new documents. Who has time to read or regurgitate old stuff anymore? Speaking of time, gotta run – somebody’s texting me. Nice chatting with you….:) & ‘luv&hugs’
Hey, I know you. I saw you in the China study…kids with glassy eyes, no eye contact, no emotions, dehumanized to robots…housed in half-way houses to be treated for this new electronic disease. I heard even your parents are fearful of what you have become. This is a step forward for you to have read and responded to my blog. There is hope.
Frances, This poem captures my concern for families present and future so beautifully. Thank you for sharing again. With your permission I will share it on my website and when I give talks on parenting. I will credit you, your blog, and your award-winning new book, Dangerous Woman.
Of course you can use this and thank you for giving credit to my book, Elva.