Then love was a phone ding’s dopamine thimble
instead of revolution, our green and singing world.
My day your night. Your day
my husking, skin to bark to sap rot.
No pixels, no disembodied voice teched towards me
reassembled you here.
Both feet missing. Inner ears gone.
Top of your head, merely suspect.
Each eye’s prism, flattened.
The geometry of your chest, lost math.
The godweld between us taffied,
split back to word and light.
Its reconfigured data—
your slick hologram—
my dearest friend who refused
to touch me.
“Chicago (CST) to Bangalore (GMT +5:30)”: Copyright © 2021 by Kemi Alabi. Originally published in American Poets Magazine, vol. 60. Reprinted with the permission of the poet.