Do Not Touch

Once upon a time my momma said these three little words - do not touch

she said these three little words 
to protect a fragile family heirloom,  
to stop us from touching a dying bird that had fallen on the sidewalk,
to remind us of manners - like kings and queens are never touched, nor do you touch the fur coat of a wealthy lady
to instill in us that if you break it, you own it 
to stay away from daddy while he sleeps

Today these three little words have taken on new and somewhat negative connotation
These three little words are separating us from each other

we can no longer hug the weeping child who is lost...
 for fear of sexual perversions
we can no longer play tag in the school playground...
 for fear of sexual harassment

what are we fearing, ourselves or the other person?
who do we distrust, ourselves, or the other person?
where does this fear of touching another human being come from, 
and how far will our society take these three little words

we sit in front of our computers... alone
we plug in to our ipods... alone
we talk on our cell phone while ignoring the companion that is with us

Do not touch... three little words ... now with a nuance of newspeak