[Spotlight. Performer steps forward, scanning crowd.]
Ever really watch people?
Not talk to them—just watch?
They’ve all got two obvious things they’re carrying:
A bag and a phone.
That’s the new uniform.
Backpack or fanny pack.
And the sacred rectangle in the hand, always in the hand.
The phone never leaves their hand.
Cradled like a baby bird… or maybe a detonator.
The bag says, “I’m on the move.”
Even if they’ve been parked on a bench for an hour, eating some sort of street food that tastes exactly like cardboard, because that’s what it is.
The bag holds their what-ifs.
The phone holds their right-nows.
And it’s not really a phone—it’s a personal Oracle.
News, people, selfies, doomscrolling, more selfies, fake news..
It answers no questions, but you keep asking anyway.
Battery hits 5%?
Panic.
“How will I know who I am without notifications?”
The phone must be held, even when dying.
Too risky to pocket.
Might lose signal. Might lose self.
And the bag? What’s in there?
Tangle of cords.
One ancient receipt.
A mystery key to a forgotten lock.
No books. No maps. No poems.
Just added weight.
And the people?
Eyes down staring at the phone screen.
Thumbs twitching.
Head tilted.
Ghost-walkers.
Zombies with Spotify.
Until—finally—the phone dies…
…and the zipper breaks…
…and the signal cuts out.
And maybe, just maybe…
they look up.
And see the sky.
[silence]
You carry a phone.
And a bag. You can’t help it.
But sometimes, once in a while, for a little while, try to leave them both behind.
Just to see if you are really real…
without them.
[walks off. spotlight fades.]
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Here’s our Bardo bus ready to take us on our daily video tour!
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“Hokey Cokey” is the version sung in the UK and other Commonwealth countries. Same tune, same arm-flailing metaphysics, different name.
It’s wild how “Pokey” becomes “Cokey” and suddenly you’re not sure if you’re at a children’s party or a rave in Brighton.
Here’s the basic difference:
US/Canada: Hokey Pokey
UK/Ireland/Australia/etc.: Hokey Cokey
Same choreography. Same existential crisis when you ask:
“What is it all about?”
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See You At The Top!!!
gorby