there was a time

where technology

was still growing

and we believed

we could code our

way into this world

of reality

mixed with that place

we could only smell

through the heated plastic

whirring fans

of our made at home rigs

we saw the future

a vast cosmic forever

on black and green screens

over clocked video cards

a sleek cybernetic hope

I’m not sure what happened

but those dreams died

in the old machines

inside video game cartridges

jammed up in dormant

outdated code

we stopped dreaming

in a world of zeroes and ones

found dollar signs had blocked

our way through those peaks

of creative mathematics

so we die on the steps

at the feet

of what could be

holding tight to our

nostalgic moments

when we felt alive