View master, Christmas 1982
Click and slide
Entertainment for days
we were stuck inside.
A cinema to use two-handed
before mobile phones
or the Internet landed.
Click and slide
Lever down, worlds collide.
Niagara Falls as we ran a bath,
Mount Everest on our garden path.
Click and slide
A Christmas gift opened with pride.
You Tube didn’t exist to watch,
Three channels on the telly
at night they went off.
Click and slide
Couldn’t stop time even if we tried.
Our old toys give a glimpse of past trends,
tomorrow becomes yesterday in the end.
Entertainment for days
we were stuck inside.
A cinema to use two-handed
before mobile phones
or the Internet landed.
Click and slide
Lever down, worlds collide.
Niagara Falls as we ran a bath,
Mount Everest on our garden path.
Click and slide
A Christmas gift opened with pride.
You Tube didn’t exist to watch,
Three channels on the telly
at night they went off.
Click and slide
Couldn’t stop time even if we tried.
Our old toys give a glimpse of past trends,
tomorrow becomes yesterday in the end.
This poem is copyright (©) Emma Phillips 2026
About the Writer
Emma Phillips
Emma is a poet, short fiction writer, mum and teacher from Devon. She lives near the M5, which sometimes lures her off on adventures. She has been writer-in-residence at Tiverton Museum for 2024-2025 where she has enjoyed scribbling away between the Wool Trade and the Stocks. She is hopelessly addicted to crisps.
