A Poem to my friend
Dearest Friend,
Shall we play a little game? You like words, don’t you? I wrote you a poem, my dear…
You’re on your glowy box today
Checking the weather, the day’s news, who’s been engaged lately
When you see it
Or rather, you don’t see it
It’s gone
Loud-mouth Jerry’s daily rants
Your uncle’s discontents with so-and-so
The latest article of doom and gloom
There is nothing there
Nothing at all
Your restless fingers swipe and swipe but it’s no use
Your glowy box is blank today
Not even the cat memes remain
No gifs or pics or updates even
Your friends, acquaintances, old college roommates are all gone
Their faces with little green blobs no longer populate your sidebar
You panic
Surely this is some kind of mistake
Everything can’t just be gone, now can it?
How could this be?
Ahhhh, but my dear friend, this was your doing, don’t you know?
Yes, you with your nervous eyes and crisp hair
You made this glowy box, didn’t you?
You let us share and share and share
You lead the way
We loved you for it, you know
We loved seeing our friends (enemies even) and sharing our deepest, darkest secrets
We could tell the whole world what was on our mind
The sandwiches we ate
Our cute babies rolling for the first time
A colorful cocktail on a beach
It became a part of our life, our identity
Until that is, you started looking
You peeped at our secrets, our conversations
You saw where we lived and you looked through our windows while we were sleeping
Then you started getting greedy
You wanted a say
And if you didn’t like it, it would go away
How could you do such a thing?
We trusted you
We trusted you with our lives
The data of our very being
You enjoy your lifeless glowy box, darling
See how blank the boxes become when you control them?
I feel sorry for you, really
I wanted us to stay close, in-touch
I wanted to update you on the amazing things in my life
But you are no friend of mine
Before I go…
Could you tell me, my dear, where the “Unfriend” button is again?
About the Author:
Mimi is an NYC-based author, comedian, and podcaster. A former high school teacher, she perfected her stage presence by being bullied by teenagers. She is an advocate for mental health and finding humor in everyday trauma.
