Poetry: A Tendency to Wear Hearts on Sleeves

(Image Source)

I log into the network of my self-esteem,

To see the hearts and the wows and the laughs flooding in.

A simple 'like' wouldn’t cut it anymore

‘Likes’ were so 2010, even 2010 was bored. 

‘Cause that’s the zeitgeist of the age, you see,

A tendency to wear hearts on sleeves.

Loves and kisses are a dime a dozen,

With a million friends and followers double.

National debates and social justice petitions,

Real crises, distorted renditions.

High definition photos of disaster zones

Flash up against cat videos on every smart phone.

Snapchat filters do not lie,

Just tell a story of hours gone by;

Selecting the perfect background, the ideal shade

To express love on the dozen’th date. 

But that’s the zeitgeist of the century,

A tendency to wear hearts on sleeves.

To document in minute detail, with extensive pictorial evidence

Clockwork days of humdrum nonchalance. 

And perhaps the generation that came before

Would call it vanity, vainglory, or something more.

But it ain’t like they were without their sins,

We didn’t invent tabloid columnists. 

And now that we are at the end,

Let me sign off with this request:

Like, comment, and share your love

Let your heart fall out of your shirt cuff.