My Slow Hermetic Life - Sept 28 2023

 

My Slow Hermetic Life

Sept 28 2023

For a long time now

I’ve been out of the conversation.

Not even listening in

or hoping to be included.

Pop music.

The endless rounds of gossip

and celebrity news.

Catty rivalries,

juicy scandals,

the latest meme, and viral sensation.

Youth culture

consuming itself

in frantic iterations,

the newest slang

only the cool kids

get to use.

The incessant buzz

of talking at each other,

people chatting, dishing, berating

seeking validation.

Because it all passes

in a day or two.

Because memories are short

scandal or not.

Because celebrity doesn't last

and fame is forgotten.

Even that

isn't what it used to be,

and what's more

probably never was;

but its emptiness

only becomes apparent

from the inside looking out.

So I am content

leading this hermetic life,

an eccentric

oblivious to a world

that never stands still.

Listening to old music

that's proven timeless,

reading instead of watching,

and talking seriously

minus the froth.

Perhaps ignorance is bliss

if you think you know

what's worth ignoring.

Or perhaps I'm just averse to change

and old at heart,

a curmudgeon

whose snooty disdain

is mere pretension.

But either way

the conversation continues,

the airwaves are full

the noise ratchets up.

Entire nations

distracting themselves;

entertained,

up-to-date,

afraid of missing out.