“Alone In A Crowded Line”
As cellphones have become an ever-constant presence in everyday life, the line between online connection and in-person interaction continues to blur.
Thumbs move like they are rushing,
rushing to grasp the last bits of something they might lose.
Connection perceived through the touching of glass.
Everyone glows as the light from their screens lock on their faces;
but it always flickers away.
I understand what the person in front of me is afraid of:
loneliness, missing out – being forgotten.
I watch as those before me step forward.
I step too.
Nothing passes between us,
except the shared space we didn’t name.
Looking down, my phone already in hand.
I don’t remember reaching for it.
I don’t remember wanting it.
The screen lights up.
A message appears.
I message back and wait.
Light flashes again… I wait.
I hear my name being called.
Did I press a button?
I turn up my volume and say, “Hello?”
It is then I understand:
the voice is not on my phone.
How close can you stand to someone,
and still be— somewhere else?
