Alluring Illusions

Something in me beckons, though I’ve been down this road before
I feel compelled to look again, such vastness to explore
In theory seems so logical, a perfect way to find
That fickle little flicker I have pictured in my mind

I click and feel rejuvenated, possibilities abound
Invented stories flood my mind with what I might have found
Cued to commonalities, I skim right past discord
Relieved to see that everyone can be so frank and forward

I want to talk to all of them, give each one a chance
But as reality seeps in, all they get’s a passing glance
Suddenly this sea of faces seems to drown me with dismay
The breadth which once compelled me seems to wash the depth away

I’ve descended into shallowness- I must, to be pragmatic
Too many here to wade through, my rules wax autocratic
This one looks too scrawny, and this one is too blonde
And this one misused ‘their,’ there’s no way I will respond

With each scroll I’m losing interest, weariness from endlessness
Just one more glance, I tell myself, before I quit this silliness
But there it is! Somehow I’m sure, this one I need to ping
Filled once more with hopefulness, of what the site might bring

Absorbing what’s presented, I flesh out my own details
And to my own impressions, reality might pale
I bet he likes to sing, or maybe he’s a poet
With pics like that, he must be artsy — it’s not a guess, I know it!

With nothing much to go by, I somehow fail to see
That my concept of this stranger is not based in reality
Something in that smile, seemed to me familiar
I’ve imbued envisioned sentience to what showed on my computer

We meet next Thursday after work, and all seems to go well
He imagines I am worldly, and I still think he’s whimsical
Easy to be charmed when we go into it believing
That what it is we want to see, is indeed what we are seeing

A few more dates of pleasantries, no conflict and no fights
But no passion, just indifference, at the end of every night
And though at first, I thought I knew, I’m feeling more and more
You’re just some dude, picked randomly: I’ve no clue who you are!

But I can’t get past the vision of who I thought I knew you were
Reality and reverie are inexorably blurred
Expectations run amuck and listening is biased
At this point I think letting go really might be wisest

We part with no hard feelings, and I’m left to think it through:
What is it with this medium that makes this hard to do?!