Progress

Progress
That's what they call it
Bigger, faster, stronger
Made to last longer
But not necessarily better

Progress
Measured in Gigabytes of memory
In 4, 5, 600 Megahertz speed
Faster than fast
Bigger than what big used to be
The future in real time
Anything
To hasten
The forgetting of the past

Progress
But without us

And so it was
We used to be happy just being together
We used to cherish the moments spent alone
We used to just sit with arms around each other
I can still picture the back of your neck
As you pull up your hair
As if to tie it in a ponytail
And then you gently let go
Threads upon threads of shiny black hair
Swaying gently, dancing at the back of your neck
The sweetest part of your body

The same one I cannot bear to look at these days
I could not even bear the stench of your breath in the morning

Something has changed
That was certain
And they still call it
Progress

Bigger, better, faster
Was that what happened
Small kisses were replaced with five Barbie dolls
Each one wearing a different skimpy outfit
Warm embraces were replaced with three Polo shirts
Three different shades of green
All bought at half-price at Dillard's

It used to be that time spent with one another
Was the most precious moment we shared
We didn't have to do anything
All we did was laugh
And that meant everything

And so it was
That we won our freedom
Yet the more choices we were offered
The more selective we have become
Or maybe, we just became too lazy
To exercise the freedom to choose

Blame
Progress

So where do we go from here
I so wanted to go away
And I will
If you promise to walk away
With me