Welcome to Cozy Poetry Corner by Debra Winter (Debbie)

Computer Games – Phooey!

“Hey, George, where is your daughter/son?”

“Why aren’t they outside having some fun?”

Kids and computers, phooey, I say!

They can be on them, all the livelong day.

You call them to eat; later they say,

Or bring it here, I’ll eat as I play.

Cold and abusive these games sometimes are…

Nevertheless, the computer is their only star.

We as parents now take second place;

Unless we join in that, computer type race.

A click here, a scroll there,

Shake the controller fast, to see how you fare.

Games with music, dancing, and such,

Shoot to kill; I hate them so much!

I want you, my son/daughter, to go out and play.

“But, Dad, I’m almost there; I need to stay!”

“Just one more level, then I’m through.”

“Then I got to get that monster creature, too!”

The games never seem to end;

Rules get broken, and then they bend.

If children make their dinner, right from their chair…

You’d never have to worry; you’d see them right there…

Stuck to the computer, in the other room,

Heaven forbid you give them a dust cloth and/or broom.

They will tell you, they did it all online,

In their crazy game of Housewife Divine.

Everything you need is on the computer these days;

Even the soap operas that put your mind in a haze.

There’s nothing more satisfying than receiving tender love,

Warmth and happiness that comes from above.

Or a pat on the back, a hug of recognition.

This is what a parent has for a mission.

To teach self-worth with warmth and gentle soul,

If not in the child’s life, cruelty will take a toll.

Now say, if computers went down all over the world.

These children’s lives would be so mixed up and swirled.

With mixed messages of what they should do.

For many they can’t even tie their own shoe.

We need to teach, and not to preach,

The survival of life is not out of reach.

Children need to be away from computer games;

Taught the responsibilities of life and computers are not the same.

It is a jungle out there, in a different way.

Just look around you every day.

We have children shooting children, and illegal drug sales,

There’s so many criminals out there that they fill our jails.

What are we to do?

Let love be the message, not just speech;

The rules of life are well within their reach.