poem of the day 09.18.12

washers and dryers

i see the poor old bastard

from my apartment building

he’s spending a lot of time at the laundry

smoking his cigarillos

staring into the void

i see the poor old bastard

and i know that technology has passed him by

because the geniuses that own my building

have replaced the old coin washers and dryers

with these debit cards

and the poor old bastard cannot use them

i suppose it’s a wave of things to come

something new every year

seems to drop a segment of us off the radar

smart phones and LCD televisions for some

and now washers and dryers for others

we learn to make due

we learn to cope with being left behind

i see the old bastard

from my apartment building

he’s smoking his cigarillos

counting out his quarters

and getting along the best way he can

i see him

and wonder what it’ll be that one day gets me

jet packs, e-paper, robot lovers

or a good old fashioned heart attack

in a warm bathtub full of synthetic water

and computerized soap.