Status

by Gillian Bonwick

We didn’t know before.
Life moved too fast.
Adverts told us
what we wanted
what we needed
what we yearned for
That gave us status.

Social engineering
kept us buying -
buying into
life styles, choosing
houses, cars, clothes,
home interiors
That gave us status.

As a block or flock we
journeyed, losing
hours commuting
in. Earning more
to pay to park
and all for jobs
That gave us status.

Now, home working opens
vistas, gives us
time to wonder
if, in fact, our
needs are simpler,
not linked to things
That give us status.

We relish sights and sounds
we’d once been
deaf and blind to.
Best of all we
value people -
friends and family
Who give us status.