Care to Be My Friend?
I have been writing off and on for many years. Now that I'm retired, I'm dedicating more time to the craft.
Is there anything we won’t troll?
And when I say we
I mean
Thee
And they
And them
And those guys
Those girls
Those folks
Over there
Everywhere
All around
On the net
On the tube
The edges will soon burn
Will crumple up
On a picture
That was once
A prized possession
Posted to a site
In fun
Then everyone
Ran to the scene
Poured Zippo
Liquid on the image
Sparked a light
The way his Dad used to do
With the Lucky Strikes
And the occasional Roi-Tan
With a replica
Of the old man’s
But hers was sans
Say Hello Again
The scowl
And the cracked skull
Now the ache is dull
And feels everlasting
Because salty tears
Won’t extinguish the flame
Will fan it instead
And now he thinks about
Being dead
All the things that got said
Won’t leave her head
His knuckles bled
Can’t look
In the mirror
At the face
Her mother loved
And he did too
Once upon an adolescent dream
That was dry
But vivid
In IMAX 3D
Welched out of
Meeting Raquel
Back in One Million
BC
What ecstasy
That could be
Cavemen competitors
But no trolls
No internet bridges
To hide under
And plunder
The unsuspecting
Unwitting
Unready
Now esteem
Floats down the stream
The mirror cracked
And the shard stuck
In a freckle
Above the tendon
Below the phalange
Blue blood strikes air
Runs red
Off the glass
Drips
To the floor
And the sound
Of the splash
On the laminate
Echoes
Across a city of 8.5
Million
In the current year
2000 and some small change
On a relative scale
AD
Chided
Derided
Blindsided
Like a plot
On Survivor
Though more sinister
More real
The stakes
Much higher
Fate
Existence
Destiny
Life
So some anonymous
Somebody
Someone
With a phone in his hand
And odium in her heart
Delirium in his head
She thinks he’s really smart
And witty
And lives for a click
A like
A love
A ha ha
Emoji
That’s why she
Slathers hate
In a thick, peanut butter spread
Across the ubiquitous cyber bread
Gets read
And reviewed
Hey, mate
Your hate
Is great
My heart palpitates
When you grate
On someone’s skin
Like a metal file
On a bar of soap
Scraping until it dissolves
And swirls
Down the drain
Slurping
Slurking
Gurgling
As the air
Departs faster
Than water
Around it
Like he did
Long before her friends
Long before his time
A presence wasted
And only tasted
For a brief time
By a hungry earth
Swallowing
And sorting
With annelid
Be thy name
Such a shame
We have to troll
And when I say we
I mean
Thee
And they
And them
And those guys
Those girls
Those folks
Over there
Everywhere
All around
Everyone
Everything
From likeness
To action
To name
To hair
To I ride with an earbud in my ear
And I don’t
And nobody should
Because I said so
And we all know
That though
You don’t know me
Can’t see me
Will never meet me
You have to
Listen to me
Because I’m right
You’re wrong
I’m the one
The son
The daughter
The gift given
To humanity
The Arbiter I be
And I am worthy
You are not
Except of receipt
Of my detestations
And your protestations
Only serve
To prove my point
Bow now
Kowtow
Genuflect
Show respect
For my credibility
As I strike the keys
And bile runs from my fingertips
In drips
That echo when they hit
Across a planet
Of 7.5
Billion
And the cursor blinks
In time to his heart
As she hovers
The pointer
Over the icon:
“Accept friend request?”
She Wrote a Song Using Only Hate Comments
© 2020 greg cain
Comments
greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 20, 2020:
Miss Anupam - I think anonymity can make some people brave. This is one of those things we have to live with in the age of the internet, but I'm hopeful that over time it will become less prevalent, less popular. Hate can't be that much fun...
greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 20, 2020:
Hey, thanks John. I'm going to check out your troll doll piece today. When you search for pictures of trolls, those little furry guys are all that come up on Pixabay and the like.
Ms. Welch is an icon, always will be. She had some unforgettable roles over the years, and that was certainly one of them.
Good weekend, my dear friend John. Also, Happy Holidays to you. Enjoy the season, be safe and be well.
Anupam Mitu from MUMBAI on December 19, 2020:
Quite long but beautiful.. You expressed well how these concealed identities have their intentions fulfilled by such trolling..
John Hansen from Queensland Australia on December 18, 2020:
I love your poetic take on trolling, Greg. It really makes one sit up and take note. I have written a couple of pieces about it too, one titled "Whatever Happened to the Cute Doll Trolls." I remember Raquel from One Million BC too..how could I not lol.
greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 18, 2020:
Thanks, Umesh. I appreciate you reading the work and dropping by to comment. Good, safe weekend to you, my friend.
Umesh Chandra Bhatt from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on December 18, 2020:
Very nice. Chain of thoughts well presented.