The Smartphone

It lays still, a mirrored obelisk.
A silent vault, the apex of centuries of progress
With a labyrinth of copper railroads, skittering across a circuit board continent
With smooth glass, and curved edges, a hard exoskeleton,
To cover the sprawling jungle of wires and cables, and the bulbous square growths of microchips
Stretching through the device like the innards of a beast
It demands attention, roaring and pulsing, skittish even in its majesty,
With protrusions and nodules, with crisp lines, and the unflinching regularity of a machine
Able to recall the stored knowledge of eons in an instant,
Or capture a fleeting moment forever in a blink of its unwavering glass eye
To sing with the voices of millions
Or to send a whisper across the globe
Driven by the mad genius and enduring passion of visionaries
It emerged as the staple, the very cornerstone of the Information Age
A connection between strangers
And a lifeline back to distant friends
A faithful guide in unfamiliar territory
A constant entertainer
And an omnipresent advisor
The smartphone