The Fray

Essays Reportage Marginalia Interviews Poetry Fiction Videos Everything

Poetry Tuesday

The Fray

What does the doom scroll say?

By Akshi Chadha

Devyn Mañibo

Poetry | Poetry Tuesday, poetry
October 10, 2023

Posted by memberxxxxx
What does the doom scroll say?

the reasons we leave
last names out of intros and usernames

become adjective species instead, like the apocalyptic companion,
the Lonely T-Rex

i think it says to think: NPCs, say only what fits
into a cloud, a box. smile like you’ve done
this before and get the fuck out while the system lets you

you might want glow worms, extra pants, knives,
gas masks, canned goods, fire, propane, little canaries,
and a smart-but-not-too-smart phone, for the long commute

for space in the library

for the library in space

to always weather until the national holiday

like a roach

predictions: if you just give it some time, you too can change who you are
at a cellular level, amend self along the microplastics

or at taxidermy plots: zoos, museums, schools, and shrines

similar to something a grade six teacher once said after taking just one look
at my product: I did not ask for this

there were no instructions at all, just the signed deed of moths

the things we decode from paywalls

papyrus blueprints for a fence made of ice-cream sticks and a house made of matches

more like a world record certificate for largeness: the frog communion
near gutters, unaccounted bees. glow of the oceanic lava, sunset
from high-rise apartment buildings made of magic mirrors and television screens.
our umbrellas of soot, blankets of mayflies.

also for the smallness: the words, the hearts, the little hands

like stars: Venn diagrams of the unknown deep sea, the outer space, the unsolvable
films of oil and fire over them. the sick pears, the taste of pears when sick,
the land on which they fall, the land from which they can be picked, the monopoly
of flowers. the set of skills, the years of experience, smart water, public seating.
the list of emails sold, the list of houses sold, the names on the edge, the names
of celestial bodies.

so many rings. the earths, the circuses, our faces.
all the unwarranted balloons.

re: member, if it was anything important, you will always need
remembering.

Akshi Chadha (she/her) is a writer and literary editor from India. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Arc Poetry Magazine, The Fiddlehead, Augur Magazine, the other side of hope, Canthius, and elsewhere. You can find her at akshichadha.com or on Twitter at @akshi_chdh.

Tags: Poetry Tuesday, poetry

Cosmogony as Ocean Meets Sky

Safe sex and Exile | Tình dục an toàn và Lưu vong

prə-ˌnən(t)-sē-ˈā-shən