Perhaps we are glued to our phones
because we are lonely
perhaps the promise of a digital companion
who doesn’t know our name
but knows our heart
is more alluring than the flesh around us
who know our name
and our past
and our presence
but could care less what goes on inside
as long as it acts according to expectations
(sit still. quiet hands. eye contact.)
and perhaps we enjoy the honesty
of screaming into a digital void
because it ends in companionship
not censure
perhaps i am on my phone because i don’t want to talk to you
because the person on the other side of the screen
is more a part of my community
than you ever were
perhaps you shouldn’t ask what is wrong with us
that we ignore you
but what is wrong with you
that we feel such a desperate need to escape
into the arms of a stranger
who we will never touch.
Perhaps you should not blame the prisoner
for wanting to imagine freedom
but blame the prison
for taking it away.
