John Donne Palimpsest

As virtuous men pass mildly away

And click ‘delete’ on their life’s file,

Messaging their FB friends to say

I’m checking out, but with a smile:

Let’s not freak out and make a scene

Cuz if we do, we’ll lose all cred;

Stop blubbering like a silly teen

Who’s just been told her puppy’s dead.

Like when someone pulls a fire alarm—

A dickish move, though no one died;

But a real fire does way more harm

Than making people wait outside.

We’re better than those fools who just

Want to get laid and can’t deal

With being apart, because lust

Is the only thing they really feel.

I feel you, baby; we’re secure

Enough in our love that absence

Makes the heart grow fonder, more sure

Of each other despite the distance.

So, by that logic, even though

I have to ghost, it’s like I’m here;

In fact, the farther away I go

It’s like, the closer I draw near.

Your kiss is like a tweet gone viral

That gets retweeted endlessly

Trending #love; it spirals

Around the world, and back to me.

And even though – stay with me, now—

That tweet (your kiss) is everywhere,

I’ll give it the emoji ‘Wow!’

And that, my dear, I’ll never share.

You are to me a perfect piece

Of code that nobody can hack;

Your algorithms give release

To me, but keep me looping back.