Reach Out, Touch a Human

Humans are an archipelago, I sense,
Separated by oceans of space.
Islands of sentience are we,
Set in seas of disconnection.

Small wonder we took to the boats,
Steering by the stars to discover.
Small islands in the stream are we,
Searching it seems for each other.

Smart phones have we, of course,
That extend our fragile bodies.
These global villages do we inhabit,
Said wise man Marshall McLuhan.

Said holy poet John Donne,
No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe;
Only connect, for we are involved.
I am my brother’s keeper.

Needy we be for the genuine touch.
Media — all sorts and conditions — will not refresh.
Real flesh alone shall change us.
So reach out, touch a human.

Raymond M. Vince
© 16th October 2014