Her tiny mouth is open

She is smiling

His tiny mouth is open
He is drooling
Two twin babies cuddle in a nest of soft, periwinkle blankets,
Which are hypoallergenic
And 100% made from organic materials
Where is their mother?
Mom’s choosing a filter for this image
Now mom’s posted it on Instagram
Only a few months old, and the twins already have an online identity.

~

Two toddlers strapped into booster seats
The radio is tuned into Top 40
“Mommy, what’s an anaconda?” She asks
Mom was busy watching Netflix at a red light

~

Two children arrive at the restaurant
Now they’ve been waiting for 20 minutes
But He is not impatient
He is slumped forward
His head is bent down
What’s that, in his hand?
It’s an iPhone 8
He is texting his friends
They’re telling dirty jokes
His friend just sent him a link
Oh, no
Don’t look at that website

~

Mom is always working, because she is single
But it’s okay, because Mom’s hired a babysitter
Named TV
Oh, no
What is that show?
It’s Game of Thrones
The pretty princess follows a trail of crucified children to a slave city
She almost pukes

~

Two pre-teens are celebrating Christmas
But they are not religious
He has always known that Santa was a sad, sweaty man in costume
Trying to make money by posing with spoiled children on his lap
She has never known the baking of cookies to be a Christmas tradition
They don’t know of any Christmas traditions
Mom hands Him the latest gaming console and a new iPhone
Mom hands Her a paper-thin laptop and an iPad
More screens to sit in front of

~

Two pre-teens are at school
She takes a math test
On a computer lab computer
He has a science quiz
It’s on an iPad
After school,
She starts a twerking club
He plays tennis
From his sofa
On his Wii

~

Two enigmas drift away from their mother
In the same household, but not living together
They live on the ‘net now
They do not speak with Mom, because she can’t understand them
Wait, “ship” means what, now?
Mom can’t keep up with the semantic change anymore
Things no longer mean what she thought they meant
When did “nigga” become a term of endearment?

~

Two teens have some free time
She is surfing Tumblr and reading fanfictions
She takes a break every now and then
To read messages in her Facebook group chat
It has over 20 people
Some of them live in Singapore
He is browsing questionable subReddits on Incognito mode
He stops when a friend Snapchats him
Asking him to hang out
He leaves to walk to his friend’s house
For a few minutes he becomes aware
Of how beautiful daylight is
He arrives at his friend’s house
They pull an all nighter to play League of Legends
Always in front of screens

~

Two young adults are visiting doctors
She needs glasses
And has an early onset of osteoarthritis in her fingers
He has obstructive sleep apnea
And high cholesterol
Consequences of a sedentary lifestyle

~

Two adults are working
She launched a global initiative to end child trafficking
An issue she learned about in first grade
When she downloaded her first news app
Her organization has saved and educated nearly 500,000 children
He was the catalyst for an international renewable energy revolution
When he created and marketed cheap and efficient all-purpose solar panels
Successful because he grew up online, where the world is interconnected
He knew how to thrive in a multicultural market

~

Two twins have their own families now
He is in an interracial relationship
She is in a gay one
He never told his son about the tooth fairy
She lets her adopted daughter smoke marijuana

~

Two elderly people order food with AmazonFresh
They place the order by pressing a button
On the arm of their hover chairs

~

Two twins die by requesting active euthanasia.