poem of the day 09.30.09

poem to the couple who
deleted me as their facebook friend

first of all
i can’t believe i’m even writing
something like this.
it stings a little bit, yes,
i’ll admit that,
mostly because i can’t figure out
what i did wrong this time.
but let’s not debate
this secret dismissal.
it’s so much easier now,
though, isn’t it?
one click and someone
is gone for a digital forever
without even knowing it.
and i wouldn’t have
except for my wife bringing
up some anecdote about
your life that i wasn’t privy
to on that social network
of social networks.
and when i checked for your page
boom, i was gone.
removed ever so casually
from your static clique
of frozen faces.
but this is much easier
don’t you think?
it’s much easier
than not returning phone calls
or deliberately missing me
on your christmas card list.
but we weren’t those kind
of friends anyway,
more guilt by association.
that’s the trick of these things
removed social interacting
with those you
wouldn’t think about
unless someone else brought
them up in the first place.
was that your case
with me?
was i not a worthy enough soul
to continue reading
the humdrum and ho hum
of your silly little lives?
oh well, i guess a couple
more assholes are out of my life.
and please don’t tell me
that it was a mistake
an errant click of the mouse.
i’d believe that if it weren’t
the two of you gone together.
and don’t sweat it, folks,
i’ve done it too.
i’ve got trails of burning flesh
behind me
and people who don’t even want
to know my name anymore.
so please don’t think this
set of meaningless words
is some kind of soapbox platform
or a request to have you both back.
my life hasn’t changed one bit
since you’ve been out of it.
it might even be better.
in fact, disregard this poem
in its entirety.
think of it as me waking with
nothing better on my mind
in the morning
but a trivial little bone to pick
and a point of contention that has somehow
lost all its meaning seventy-five lines in.