Call Me a Luddite
By Niall Twohig
I’m not anti-technology.
I’m for a certain type of tech
used for a certain end.
For example,
the little birdcall in my pocket.
That’s technology.
A simple tool that brings me closer to nature,
that allows me to commune with birds.
The other bulky device in my pocket
isn’t so simple.
It gives a lot, true, while
binding me to corporate forces,
mining me, stealing this moment,
closing eyes to birds and ears to birdsong.
Call me a luddite.
Luddites weren’t anti-technology either.
They were against being machined into parts
of a machine that unskilled them, atrophied them,
unlanded them, mastered them
so machine owners grew fat.
Call me a luddite.
They were for technology
as a tool in their hands,
used for their needs.
On my counter:
smart phone and birdcall.
Call me a luddite
as I leave the former behind
and tuck the latter in pocket.
Today, I’ll use that tool
to get what I need.
Birds are already calling outside.