Today's Child

Today’s Child
by Marilyn Mackenzie

She learns of ‘puters
Of gigs and bytes
Modems, keyboards
And screens.

Her friends unknown
Just words exchanged
In shorthand codes
She’s learned.

She’s only ten
An innocent,
Knows nothing of bad
In the world.

Her IM friend
Changes faces
In his world
Of make-believe.

Today he says
He’s 15 years old,
Tomorrow he’ll be
A small boy.

He could be someone
Dangerous or
Just wanting to be
What he was.

Her parents watch TV shows
As her fingers race over keys.
They are innocent too in this world
Of chat rooms and people unseen.