Another Me
*Trigger Warning: Depression, Mental Health
When I picked up my phone
Staring back at me
Was a reflection of myself
When I hit the on button
The phone came to life
And I became the deceased
I guess, when the lights are off
We can only be identified by the lights from our cell phone screens
Or the lack of it
We would survive as long as our phones do,
For we don’t know how to live without it
It has become another me
I could be what I, in real life, am not
I can live with my fake identity,
Disguising my true self and my stupidity
Erasing every mark of my existence
In a single click
Hundreds of unread emails,
Dozens of texts from friends and family
And a few notifications that I didn’t care about
All of these and many more, gone
In a single click
Yet still they all called to me, subconsciously,
And tempted me to immerse my attention to discover,
Unravel,
The mysterious tales they tell
These tales might not be of value
But undoubtedly they are worthwhile
At least that’s what I thought
When I aimlessly browsed
For hours and hours and all you hear is
Click, click, click
Hidden amongst these texts was a message
That showed the amount of time I spent
On this amazing device, sometimes for a couple days,
It read up to 7 hours
It forced me to be cynical and accused me of the time I’ve wasted
And guilty I felt
With the will of determination
I shut down my phone,
And promised myself
That I wouldn’t allow it to disrupt my life again, I murmured
This is the last click
Yet this promise is just amongst a million others
That I have previously made
I am tired, trapped
Yet still unwilling to change..
Click..click..click..
Because it is an escape to a surreal life
Away from the mundane worries
Another world, a chance to gain attention and make connection
It is rebirth
It is The Life, lost
In a single click
When I pick up my phone
Staring back at me
Is a reflection of myself
When I click on the on button
The screen lightens up, yet
What I see is no longer me
Background: original digital art by Wudi Fan, made with Photoshop
…yet what I see is no longer me.” Strong ending and thought provoking poem!