There’s Something in the Woods or Not

The children remain in the forest.
Only the forest itself has changed.
Dense woods aren’t such a good metaphor

For where our thoughts get lost, anymore.
People keep tinkering, placing kids
In war zones, big-city back alleys,

Cells of virtual reality
In bedrooms of suburban houses,
All sorts of shadowy atmospheres

In which you can imagine a child
Endangered, quickly, easily, lost.
The thought experiment hasn’t changed.

Is there something to be discovered
Before living lost is only loss?