It was admirable how he could just sit there 

In a living room full of friends 

On a Saturday night among all the happenins’ 

The site was rare 

A guy in his early 40s 

He was the only one looking straight, looking around

His face was expressionless

He was at ease

Still, like he was on some sort of existential quest 

His circle of friends frowned

The group spoke of Donald Trump and Taylor Swift 

Of grumps and gifts 

The past and future what ifs 

He said there was nothing to buy 

But that walking to the park or to dinner was worth a try 

The others were scared but off they all went

Along the way, a brawl, a car accdient, a garden

And best of all, some golden doodles 

Angelic Golden retrievers and poodles 

The guy saw all of it 

His friends spoke of notifications and Uber 

They missed the canal 

The museums 

He feared they were in danger of missing the future

He felt bad for his pals

So he led them into the forest 

They were all (but one) tourists 

To where there was no cell phone service 

Just a waterfall and an old hearse at the bottom 

He figured he’d got ‘em 

Led them over a small bridge where the wind blew just right

Each one had to let go of what they held tight 

And instead hang on to the ropes of the bridge – the present

And much to his delight, over the edge all those glittering gadgets went

“Look at the water!” one yelled in awe 

“Hey, ya’ll,” another one chimed 

There they were, just in time – Donald Trump and Taylor Swift 

On each side of the waterfall 

As if two sides of some ethereal rift

And a rainbow shone through from side to side 

The circle of friends chuckled with delight 

And that man – the one without a smartphone 

Smiled along the edge of that waterfall 

He was no longer alone 

Unafraid, because of all his reading and forest-treading 

He knew there was nothing worth fretting 

Inflation, the state of the nation, lyrical rights and the world’s plights

So he jumped into that waterfall 

His friends, devoid of their phones, finally saw 

And under that rainbow, they too dove 

And discovered that the world, that humans, that people and the forest – are all such treasure troves 

And they discovered things that smartphones and AI could never know 

When they let their smartphones go