What Do We Do?

When the nation was founded
And the country was new
You might think to yourself
What did people do?

There weren’t many books
And newspapers were few
So at the end of the day
What did people do?

I suppose there were bicycles
But not many roads
What did people do?
Did they jump up like toads?

But life went on
The nation expanded
It moved south and west
Cities grew, states joined
Technology at its best

What did people do?

Well, they talked
They played board games
They sat on porches
They looked at each other
They knew each other’s names

Then professional sports
Came onto the field
It’s what people did
Their pleasures revealed

Then there was radio Their ears finely tuned The family gathered Like they were marooned

And then came the tv
Soon families had two
They no longer conversed
That’s what they would do

Tape recorders Video games Sports cars Cell phones

And now…
Do we look at each other?
Do we recognize kin?
Do we say, “You’re my mother?”
Oh where do I begin?

So where are we today?

Processed foods?
Streaming tv
The Internet

Have we become so impersonal, alien and isolated?
Have we made the family unit violated?

What do we do?