What Happens When You Type Drafts On Your Phone At Night

©2022 Juliet Altmann

1:26 AM and I’m babbling on inside my head

About how I don’t write as often when I haven’t recently read

Only to suddenly remember that it’s not totally true

So I fall back into the lull of the TV

Flashing screen illuminating the room

The low battery alert arrives as expected

“You have reached 20%”

I click “low power mode” because I’m not done writing yet

Though my typing is getting unsteady

Word formation becoming delayed

I’d say it’s me — eyes blurry, late at night

But I swear I’m totally awake

It seems like a problem with the phone

I wonder if it’s because the battery is low

As my next speculation arises, I gasp

Perhaps it’s the length of this note!

I wonder whether I should start a new one

What would that mean for this work as a whole?

I reserved this part of the night to draft my book

But I think I’ve lost sight of my goals

Oh well, there the battery goes —

©2022 Juliet Altmann

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What Happens When You Type Drafts On Your Phone At Night was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.