Only Disconnect, or, A Phish Story
(a found poem)
hey
your number
popped up
in my phone
so can you please
remind me
how we know
each other
exactly?
we’ve
connected
at some point
but
I can’t remember
how
29 thoughts on "Only Disconnect, or, A Phish Story"
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a fish story that unrolls in measured truthful sounding stanzas
Thanks Gaby. I’ve been getting these types of texts a lot lately. Annoying yet seductive.
Yes, and well done, Kevin!
Thanks John!
that’s a remarkable found poem!
Thanks Mike!
Every time a scammer texts “hey your number popped up in my phone,” E. M. Forster gets special dispensation to kick one soul in Malebolge.
Yes! Btw Howards End is still one of my favorite novels. The movie ain’t bad either.
So glad I don’t have a smart phone! Nice rendering of this current scam, Kevin.
No smartphone! Now there’s an idea. It’s tempting to go back to a flip phone with no screen.
I like this, Kevin. I did something similar with a text conversation I had with a sick friend. Sometimes, poetry is all about selection.
Thanks Lee! And agreed.
Great poem, Kevin!! I hadn’t heard of a “found poem” before, and I like it. A lot. I’m gonna look around and try it.
Thanks Jules!
I am digging your poems this month. Keep em coming!
How do I know you? And did we have a special connection I’ve somehow misplaced? My smart phone has its own intelligence. I’m stuck with the remnants of the old.
It’s doing way more than you know it’s doing, unfortunately. Listening to what you say and selling the info to merchandisers, for example. And worse, probably.
Still laughing….
I get these texts, too, Kevin…you’ve shown a useful purpose to them now!
Lemonade, Pam! 😏
“a Phish Story” Oh my goodness, Kevin! You had me completely with just the title, and the poem itself did not disappoint. Masterful. Thanks for this!
Thanks E.E.!
Love thw cadence and the interogative in the middle pops.
The ending hangs like a threshold
Yea!
Thanks Coleman!
I love the sharp irony here, Kevin.
Thanks Jeremy!
A truly relevant poem to the times, one equally funny as it is sad considering how often the phishing scams are due to hacking the genuine accounts of old friends or loved ones…
Thanks Lauren! I feel like this most sinister thing of all is the way these scammers prey on our genuine and powerful desire for connection with others. Who knows, maybe we really did meet this person? Maybe a friend, a friend I’ve lost track of? The scammer does it for money. We do it for love.
I forgot to comment on this poem yesterday. Please forgive me. I meant to but I scrolled to the next thing. I remembered it later. I remembered you sent it. Now I’m on the next thing and the next…
… and the next.
If I had anything to forgive you for, darlin, I would, but I don’t.
The other way around, now…
You’ve created a revelation with just the word “phish” and the found words that follow! Brilliant insight!