A Virtual World

 

 

One night I went to sleep

Looking forward to the next day,

From the time I knew myself

This was always my way.

 

Then one morning I awoke

And everything had changed,

No kidding, my friend,

Life was all rearranged.

 

The newscaster said,

Welcome to the new norm,

It was as though during the night

There was a great storm.

 

I pinched myself

To wake myself from my dream

And then I realized

It was a virtual scene.

 

 

That Sunday I went to church

Virtually,

We hugged and we kissed

Virtually.

 

The message was delivered

From a virtual platform,

The next Sunday and the next

This was the new norm.

 

Children went to school

But they never left their home,

They received their information

On tablet and cellphone.

 

Those without either

Had to do without,

At least, till the Government

Could work something out.

 

 

People worked from at home

If they had the facility

And most aspects of their work

Were done virtually.

 

People received their salaries

Over the Internet

But of course, there are some

That haven’t gotten theirs yet.

 

Concerning hard earned cash

This was a thing of the past,

It was now bitcoin and I-money

A whole different class.

 

It was a virtual world

Where nothing was real

The Nihilist was in his own niche

While others were in a daze.

 

When people could not pay

They paid virtually

And since nothing was real

They did it repeatedly.

 

 

However, there were times

When to court they were Zoomed

And the settlement was virtual

Just like you assumed.

 

It reminded me of a time

When we played as children,

Everything was imaginary

But for some, this was a problem.

 

The feigned lashes got real

And you felt real pain,

And your intention there and then

Was never to play again.

 

We are coming full circle

To our childhood again

Where now, as full-grown adults,

We are playing childhood games.

 

Only that now, it is not a game,

It is actually virtually real

And any who refuses to play

Must be prepared to fail.

 

Virtual Easter, Crop-Over

And Christmas,

The real as we once knew it

Is passing away fast.

 

 

Think of a young child

Growing up in this new age,

Virtually wrong could be right

At some imminent stage.

 

Most of what was unacceptable

Could become acceptable

And we could very well do away

With the Holy Bible.

 

Realities could differ

Depending on whose reality

And everything could be right

In our new reality.

 

There’s no doubt in my mind

The floodgates are breached

And the virtual is becoming the real

Even as I speak.

 

COVID-19 is virtual,

No doubt some would say

But between you and me,

The experiences are real.

 

 

Whether we will ever go back

We can only wait and see

But for now, at this present time,

This virtual is our reality.

 

Stewart Russell © December 21, 2021