My private portal to a world between,
My placeless place of virtual exchange,
I see through you though you remain unseen
And make familiar what you once made strange.
You make a stranger means to make me ‘friend’
Whom I can ‘touch’ to ‘like’, to show I care.
You make a means to every unknown end<
And make one little screen an everywhere.
I am familiar with a hundred faces,
All famished for their fifteen minutes fame,
I am half present in a hundred places
But never present in the place I am.
I pull you from my pocket when you call
I touch and swipe as I am bid to do,
You do my bidding too, you do it all,
What will you make of me, or I of you?
This poem was originally published in The Singing Bowl (Canterbury Press, 2013), and used with the author’s permission.
Malcolm Guite is the Chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge and author of various books on contemporary spirituality. In addition to this he is a poet and singer-songwriter and fronts the Cambridge-based band Mystery Train. Visit www.malcolmguite.com where you can read Malcolm’s blog, some of his poetry, or find out more about his music and media appearances.