Cautionary Rhymes About The Perils of Technology

2. Gidget’s Gadgets

Gidget loved to buy machines – gizmos from her wildest dreams.

Every crazy new invention – any gadget you could mention:

An exercycle for her rat; a robot that could tease the cat;

A widget that unscrambled eggs; an instrument to scratch her legs.

Gidget soon spent all her money, on a towel-rack filled with honey; and a microwave with DVD  that told her horoscope for free.

There were mountains of this junk, and Gidget’s feelings went ker-plunk!

She heard the voice of her dead Pappy: “Owning things won’t make you happy.”

She got sick of her machines: the laser beam that cooked the beans; a rubber knife to slice the jelly; a tiny brush to scrub the telly.

What use was a fish umbrella? Or a monkey’s armpit smeller?

An emperor-penguin with a heater? Or a speedo for a cheetah?

Gidget cried, “Enough’s enough!” And sold off all her useless stuff.

(except the tree with chocolate bark, and a toilet seat that shone in the dark).

She got heaps of cash that day – all of which she gave away.

Gosh it made her feel better, to be a giver, not a getter.

© Raymond Huber