Application/Apparatus

(album: Sympathy For Life - 2021)

Application, soothing like a mother's voice
Speaks instructions to me in my native tongue
Bluetooth option paying for itself in stars
Conversation difficult with anyone

Operating mechanism with a name
Limo license picture shows a friendly face
Information liquid-crystal looking glass
Navigation effortless as shifting lanes

Crowd-sourced data, satellite delivery
"This is for your people," I was told to say
Destination entered into a machine
Unfamiliar neighborhood, but not for her

Soft narration in a soothing female voice
Body reacts, I'm thinking of something else
Rear-view mirror, foreign conversation eyes
Silent greeting, executed flawlessly

Apparatus subject to an engine's will
Arrow pointing digital light to a field
Time and distance factored into everything
Cop rehearsal, say what you were told to say

Mass migration, occupying forces stayed
Satisfaction rating advertised with pride
Rebel soldiers, freedom fighters some would say
Charging cable offered as a sign of peace

Waiting for a stranger on a crowded street
Urban living standards rising constantly
Western cities, people driving orderly
Phone-card hustle, calculation constantly

Friendly speaker tells me "In 1,000 feet"
5G signal, guides my hands to shift the gears
Grim reminder, war cannot be truly fled
Worker status on the dash for all to see

Young people enjoying urban habitation
Headlights beaming with western potential
Carried though a noisy, crowded city
Carriage sleeping children into the light of morning

The operating mechanism
Returns to its resting human state