I did not just drag and drop.
I did not just haul a burden so heavy
that my hands, arms, and shoulders
gave way
and I had to let it go.

Neither did I just browse.
I did not get on my hands and knees
and join the gentle cows
to slowly sample
whatever the open field had to offer.

Instead, I sat here at my desk
manipulating a mouse
which is not, in fact, a mouse
and I searched
for something on the web
that is not, in fact, a web.

And isn’t this how we move forward:

with horsepower for jet engines
and candlepower for light bulbs
we take what we understand from one era
to describe
what we don’t
in the next.
~Julie Cadwallader-Staub “Progress”

I don’t store anything in the clouds that circle above, nor do I stream or phish from the flowing creeks that burgeon after the rains of winter. I’m just getting over the aches and chills of the latest virus, which landed in my nose and chest, not on my hard drive or software.

Instead of time I used to spend on embroidery, I now put too much effort following threads on discussion forums. I should get back to baking cookies.

I liked the old words better than repurposing them with new-fangled meanings. Words told more interesting stories back then, but now I can’t send any of this to you without Word, cloud, streams, and threads.

But forget my virus. I’ll keep it to myself. I’ll just wave at you through the windows while I clack away on my keyboard.

Alas! Is there no end to what we borrow and forget to give back?!?