Back home
We’re born with a safety net
Woven with family history
And well-meaning neighbors
Bankers who have names
School nurses who laugh at the formality
Of emergency contact forms
As if our next of kin were somehow strangers
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Within the bounds of the safety net
Some fly high and soar
The trapeze suits them
Others look beyond the mesh
And wonder what it feels like to touch the ground
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Silicon Valley is life without a net
Mostly immigrants, we, nets abandoned
Invasive species whose penchant for risk-taking
Has prohibited the establishment of social norms
A path without a handrail
Eyes straight ahead to avoid dwelling on
The abyss on either side
Ephemeral jobs, transient friends, a tolerance for
Neighbors we have never even met
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In this place where we live
Each weaves new fabric
Fibers collected, our found friends and family
A ragtag collection discovered at the coffee shop, gym
Night classes, volunteer projects, and jobs that seem promising
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We weave our relationships into
Not a net, but gear appropriate for this place
Our fabric apps allow more mobility, features, and intensity of user experience
Our friends’ wisdom becomes
The straightjacket that keeps us from
Really dumb moves that might kill us
Their humor becomes
Knee pads and butt cushions
To dull the pain when we stumble
And the friends that endure beyond the occasional
Failed marriage or failed startup
Become the bandages
Healing the bloodiest wounds
From our really nasty falls
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Introverts for the most part
Still we tend our social cloth
Patterns of different ages
Reflect what we were up to when the earthquake hit
The bubble burst
Or when tragedy struck
And knocked out the lights
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If we are lucky
Inspection reveals a sturdy thread or two
Whose hue lasts when others fade
Whose length of kindness seems unending
And over the years we find
Some semblance of Security
To take the next step
On the wary path
Between adventures
Came about because
An individual thread
Knitted into our lives
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Thank you, Doug.
