November 13th Poems

TRADING MY LIFE FOR MORE LIKES

“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”
Mary Oliver

Lying prone, I reach for my phone and scroll
Searching for signs people approve of me
Thus, each day, I fail to meet my first goal.

I order myself: Have some self-control,
leap up, come alive, set yourself free …
Yet I stay prone, reach for my phone and scroll

I lie so long, I need damage control,
must rush once up, give an apology.
Late again, I’ve failed to meet my first goal.

Breathing outdoor air is good for my soul;
I will feel better if I just go pee!
Yet I stay prone, reach for my phone and scroll.

Why waste my time arguing with a troll?
Why waste joy, yoga time, or energy?
I need only rise to meet my first goal!

Hours pass as the phone swallows me whole,
crushing my dream of how my day would be.
Lying prone I reach for my phone and scroll.
…Maybe tomorrow I’ll reach my first goal.

Lanette Sweeney