the dead come stumbling down the street

towards me

hungering

their vacant eyes devoid of thought

staring down at their phones en masse

a part of but apart from this world of the living

and they outnumber us

us souls still searching for a connection that doesn’t involve towers and satellites

look at them mindlessly eating with a herd mentality

just shovelling processed shit into gaping mouths like a cattle

uncaring

what damage can be done to rotting flesh and deteriorating minds

the dead surround us

the foretold end wasn’t a plague or aliens or black magic or satan himself

it was technology

shimmering slick devices with high resolution screens and surround sound wireless ear buds

an infection that started small

soon no one spoke to anyone

they communicated in rambling messages filled with images that represented the emotions they no longer expressed aloud

they formed groups and randomly assigned arbitrary ratings

whole industries began to crumble

new and insidious entities sprang up overnight

industries based on spreading misinformation about the digital plague

and then everyone was addicted

no longer eating for enjoyment

but for photos and likes

societal bonding fell apart in favor of intangible approval from faceless masses

as life moved on around them they became disinterested

disenfranchised

soon they no longer noticed the passage of time as anything but an abstract

reminders of a distant time

when laughter and love filled the now silent hallways and byways

life was no longer lived

but catalogued

a new race of clicking dead emerged

watching the world through the filtered lens of applications that allowed no more applying of living to the day to day

now they stumble on

mouths agape as the trends force them into line

artificially unintelligent lemmings following each other off of the cliff

unaware that real lemmings never we’re quite that stupid

forced to engage in games with real world consequences for virtual world approval

the sunset on them as they took pictures and shared them with no comprehension of why

just that they had to if they wanted to fit in

if you’re reading this

put down your phone

go outside

let the battery trickle dead as you talk to one another

before it’s too late for all of us

it may already be

the orbiting satellites threaten to block out the stars

remember them as they were

pass on the tales of life before

of life

one to be lived

remember us

the ones that tried

your friends

your family

the real ones

we’re out here

walking along and admiring the world we’ve killed

alone