I’m in your screen // a spoken word poem

Hey, it’s me,
I’m inside your screen, because
Sometimes it helps to be seen
To explain what you mean, so I’m
Talking to you like I know you
And maybe I do, I mean,
Maybe we’re friends or
Maybe I’m just some guy that pretends
Either way,
The fact remains
The me that you see
is an old me
Not the real me
By the time you see me
I don’t know where I’ll be
Probably
I could be anywhere but
I may be
Looking at my own screen

Cause that’s what we do, isn’t it?
With instant access night and day
We interact in time delay
A picture or a comment
A chance to let our thoughts vent

But wait-

The posts are not for you
And not for me, specifically
They go out just
To everyone
And who is that?

A thousand living faces
Flattened down to fit these places
Frozen solid into smiles—
I can’t see past the smiles—
And the thumbs – I won’t forget the thumbs
The thumbs are why I’m here
Too few is what I fear
But if a lot come up that’s good
It means that I’ve been understood
That’s really what I want to see
To validate the frozen me

Does it feel cold to you in here?
I’m cold
The thumbs can’t keep me warm
Our frozen smiles to conform
Are not our whole reality
In fact I think I’d rather see
A smile meant for only me