Just Out of Reach by Eileen Vorbach Collins

The longer I stay away from people

The less human I become

Wondering if there’s something

Wrong with me

Because I don’t miss

the frenetic motion of my old life.

The less human I become

The more I embrace this virtual world

Where I find connection

And acceptance in likes and loves

Follows and re-Tweets

Even selecting produce online

Where I can’t tell if it’s overripe

Or bruised to be delivered to my door

By a masked man

A lone ranger without his sidekick

And left just out of reach

Pre-paid with plastic, tip included

Interrupting the daily briefing

That I know I shouldn’t watch

And the next day, I think it’s a joke

Something from The Onion

Until I watch the clip

And face the chilling reality

That he really said that

And I feel less human, less real

In this, the new Twilight Zone

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Eileen Vorbach Collins

Eileen Vorbach Collins writes creative nonfiction and, on the rare occasion, poetry. The poetry is usually after she’s run screaming from watching the news. Her work can be found at www.eileenvorbachcollins.com

Twitter @evorbachcollins