2 a.m.

 by Robert Russell 

​

 

2 a.m., crying,

sides splitting, face aglow by the screenlight

            viral tweets and Vine compilations

            neo-dadaism on Tik Tok

            Reddit threads and Insta reels

            ASMR on YouTube

           

signs, signifieds, signifiers, and memes

 

content creators and influencers

spinning vicarious lives

marketing distractions, selling snapshots

            of something better

a fear of missing out

            on the newest posts

 

 

2 a.m., crying,

sighs, spitting, face awash with anguish

            ennui, enervation, exhaustion, existence;

            burgeoning technology bridging the gap,

            bringing groups together but begetting

            generational gloom and budding grief  

 

bits, bytes, binary, and suicide

 

millennials, zillennials, and gen z

lives limned in likes, cemented comments,

profiles purporting phone-y personas

fears, vacant faces, virtual forces, vatic farces

                        for what? forever?

 

2 lives are better than 1, I cry