Licking a Stamp

We used to lick our postage stamps
To stick them on a letter;
But now the stamps do self-adhere,
Yet does that make life better?

And that’s how Vanya’s rant begins
In Chris Durang’s new play*
Which I feel very privileged
To have watched and loved today.

The character bemoans the fact
That life has changed so much;
Today we need technology
Like weakness needs a crutch.

And though life seems much easier,
It comes at quite a cost.
The things that once connected us
Have somehow all been lost.

The younger generation
Can’t remember stamps we licked;
And the old days being better
They would surely contradict.

*”Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”