“Cables” by Andrew Schallwig

Everywhere they grab, beckon,
Connect and restrain

Like electric basilisks
They follow us
Offer us knowledge
And curse us with it all the same

Vines shoot up our buildings
Leafy tendrils stretch across walls
Branching off in new directions

A jade hydra searching
For Hercules

Plugging in I embrace it
Otherwise I would be
Lost, empty, concerned, somehow alone

The very wires that allow us to talk
Halfway across the world
Keep me at my desk
Power to a computer to a screen to headphones
Immobilized just to go to class

I can go away
But not for too long!
Lest I become disconnected,
Lost, empy, concerned again

It’s an odd paradox
That we can’t escape the very thing that “connects” us?

We are forced in
Static
Work
Responsibilities

How odd
When an earth of flowing creeks rushing down a mountainside
And cool crisp winds soaring off the oceans
Stir us into motion

Andrew Schallwig is studying Computer Engineering, with a minor in German in the class of 2024. He is fascinated by the future of sustainable development and technology, and how we can make arts and education more accessible and welcoming for all. He grew up surrounded by some amazing mentors in the arts, and wants to continue to share that love for music, learning and creativity that they shared with him.