I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT ME TO SHUT UP NOW

by Amy Ballard Rich


I've been given notice,
pink-slipped if you will,
by the trend-setters
in the general public

that my operational system
is too outdated
to be listened to
or especially to be viewed,
anymore

It is so outdated
that any number
of small system failures
could implode
the whole complicated infrastructure,
and there is nobody available,
or nobody willing that is,
to repair it

My usefulness has expired,
given that my interfaced-network
logged into the backlog
of 63-year-old data
is no longer deemed catchy enough
to reconcile
new technological terms
that do not want to catch up
backwards

It no longer twittifies the trender
to upcycle my swirling green
motherboard;
that sends me packing
back to the mothership
of dust to dust

Although,
sometimes if you bury yourself
in well-aerated soil
for a few seasons

you can be later
transplanted
where you may quietly flourish
and even garner
a few
thank-yous


* * * * *

Amy Ballard Rich's work can be found in many anthologies, including Mermaid Mirror and Milvia Street Art and Literary Journal. When not writing she can be found advocating for social justice, and hugging trees.