JUST THE WAY WE ARE

 As the commercial goes,
 Lauren ditched Jack, because he was way too boring,
 Jack then got himself a Citicard Private Pass,
And you've got it, he started scoring...

 

 More events, more experiences, more concerts,
Met museum Marilyn, cooked with Giada, got Alicia to give him that "look,"
 Watching this spot made me wonder when it happened,
That just being yourself would get you the hook!

 

 In the 70's, Billy Joel sang,
Of love, "Just the Way You Are,"
 Soon after affection became conditional; "what can you do for me,"
If nothing lately, pack up and hitch yourself to someone else's star.

 

 For a generation reared on video games and in cyberspace,
I wonder if they even see analog humans as real,
 Or other than appendages to electronic gadgets and devices,
 They can't put down to talk or linger over a meal.

 

 In this click, quick world, where what you sample,
And who you bump into, makes for superficial, sound bite conversation,
 With no internal compass or intrinsic self worth as a guide,
As the population ages, where will we go as a nation?

 

 When we refuse to be still, alone, or reflective,
Considering our vessel as nothing but empty,
 How can we complain when we continue to get leaders "just the way we are,"
Disingenuous...less than civil...flip floppy...long on puffery.

 

Karen Ann DeLuca