I Wish I'd Written This

Children Unplug

By Tug Dumbly

Children unplug

this world isn’t virtual

dejack and eject

put down the control

don’t let a machine

hijack your mind

home invade

your nascent soul

Children unplug

this world’s not pixels   

the real liquid crystal’s

alive in that stream        

you don’t have to snap it

shoot or share it

your eyes are camera

to catch your dreams

Brother your fingers

and thumbs are wonders

hands to grip sticks  

shaped to fling stones

be dazzled be nuzzled

be roughed up by nature

get down in the dirt

of your earthy home

Sister you’re worth so much

more than devices’

iPhoney fantasias

of selfy esteem

those shuffling fields

of wilted-neck flowers

heads wired up

pinned to a screen

C’mon now kid

just put down the tablet

come out with your head up

check out the sky

pluck the buds from your ears

hear the birds of the earth

build bowers of beauty

in which to abide

Build bowers of beauty

nests of memory

a clandestine cave  

where sweet senses hive 

pluck the buds from your ears

hear the birds of the earth

and croaking creeks    

of creature cry  

Build bowers of beauty

nests of memory

come out with your head up

check out the sky

pluck the buds from your ears

hear the birds of the earth

and scroll to the end

having been alive 

I've introduced you to Tug before. Click here to refresh your memory. Doesn't pull any punches, this poet! And yet, with what beautiful language and images he makes his points. And with what passionate urgency! 

There's not a lot I need to add about this one, is there? The message is clear, and I can't see anyone arguing – nevertheless, it so much needs to be said.

The kids aren't going to discard their devices, of course. And what an irony that I first saw this poem on facebook, and now I'm sharing it more widely on the internet, where it will be appreciated by people using those very devices which we think we can no longer do without. Of course, many of us are on our laptops or even desktops, and will move away from them eventually. It's the tablets and phones that are so insidious; they are the things we can stay connected to pretty much non-stop. (Yes, I love mine, too.)

Well, it IS sad and horrifying if children and adolescents grow up permanently at a remove from the wonders of our natural world. It IS a real risk that they may too easily be manipulated and brainwashed by the stuff they ingest via the earbuds and screens. And, what happens when we are young shapes us for life – and therefore shapes the world.

That's one good reason for posting poems online!

But we may need to do a bit more than that. I think parents and teachers have a great responsibility – as always. So do we all. We are all the adults whom children are observing.

I am forever grateful to my Grandpa, who spent a lot of time with me, from my toddlerhood to his death when I was nine, going for walks and pointing out the many interesting and beautiful things we passed. I believe I have always loved nature – but perhaps that love was inculcated by my Grandpa and would not have existed otherwise. It's clear that he intended to impart it.

And it's true that, as we are often told, children learn by example. I suppose we might get our own heads out of the devices more often, and accompany the kids outside.

And please – share this post, or the link to it, all over the place!

Material shared in 'I Wish I'd Written This' is presented for study and review. Poems, photos and other writings remain the property of the copyright owners, usually their authors.