Blank Screen

I walked by,

As though eye contact isn't an option,

Pretending as though you don't even exist,

Inching my way towards you,

Soon feeling an uncomfortable sensation,

Quicky scavenging for the fatal touch of my phone,

Looking down at a blank screen,

No notifications,

No texts,

No calls.

Trying to pretend that there's something more important,

More avoidable,

More reliable,

Than the awkward smiles and pauses of eye contact.

The distance seems to become longer,

And the anxiety of having to meet eyes becomes more real,

Having to pretend you have no meaning,

No reason to win,

No reason to pay a toll in the attention i will have to give,

To have a reason to look at a blank screen,

Not have to meet eyes,

In fear of a fatal connection with the world around me,

We are now about to pass,

I put the cold metal of my phone in my pocket,

And search along the floors,

Trying to find interest and not have too look,

We soon pass,

Not having to look in one another direction,

Not having to remember,

Not having to connect.

I feel a buzz in my pocket,

Sending chills down my back,

And gently pull it out,

To see the words across the screen,

As though they are popping out at me,

“You don't have to avoid the world by a blank screen”

We live in a world,

Where having to look someone in the eyes,

And acknowledge that they are a person,

And simply smile,

Is too much to bare,

Then to simply look at a blank screen.