Screen Time — Summary

reedjoseph7Contemplative

Reality is so still and steady

On the screens I see things, things Flashing pulsing throbbing screaming Fast fast flipping Always moving

Reality is trees Bending patiently with the wind And the slow hot arc of the sun Cool dance of moon Silent stars The fastest is the cheetah If you can catch it in flight Instead of napping in the dusty veldt

Oceans pulse and throb Still, they’re still Still enough to hold you Entrance you Mystify and inspire

My screen says “LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK !!” Its mad rhythms My mind’s drug

It’s nice to breathe air And see a face not flashing To hold an embrace To not have to chase and keep pace

Be

Still

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The speaker sets two kinds of "reality" against each other: the frantic one on a screen and the slow one in the natural world. The screen is all flashing, pulsing, screaming, and the short, rushed lines ("Fast fast flipping") make you feel that speed. Nature moves too, but gently. Trees bend, the sun arcs, the moon dances, and even the cheetah, the fastest animal, is more likely to be napping than sprinting. The ocean pulses like a screen, yet it stays still enough to hold and inspire you.

When the screen shouts "LOOK LOOK LOOK," the speaker calls it "my mind's drug," which suggests a pull that is hard to resist. By the end, the tone softens into relief. Breathing air, seeing a face that isn't flashing, and holding an embrace feel like rest. The final lines, "Be / Still," slow everything down, leaving a calm, almost pleading mood.

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