there was a time
when thoughts
were pencilled in
by flashlight or nightlight
well after the house
has shut down for the night

there was a time
when poems
were extensions
of one's hopes and dreams
by words coloured in -
imagination reigned supreme

there came a time
when typing in
on keyboards and touch screens
cursors blipping and
message alarms beeping -
our faces twitting in online spaces

there'll come a time
when our souls
after having been
stripped and laid bare
shall seek their worlds once more
in the humble printed word