COMMUNION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You would have thought them somewhat mad:

These people you see nowadays,

Walking on their own down the street,

Whispering, laughing, arguing

With some invisible other,

Hands free to gesture. or with one

Clasped to vigilant ear, never

To miss all that hoped for good news.

On bus or train they sit silent

With their heads bowed and hands in lap,

Their fingers twitching staccato

Around a new kind of rosary;

Or they may feel or hear the call

Some ignore, but most will answer,

Drawn to follow beyond their will,

Wherever the message may lead them.

When not clasped by hand, it is placed

On tables in bar or restaurant,

By the TV remote back home

Or by their bed like a good book,

Waiting for it to ring and sing

Them awake in darkness, their faces

Lit by the lamp of communion,

The writing aglow on the glass;

And the word moving beside them

Like music wherever they go.

(2013)

I once taught a boy who, in all seriousness told me that he really
didn't think he could live without his mobile phone - and that was
way before they had got the grip on people that they have
these days...

Picture courtesy of Google Images.