Forever Lov(n)eliness 

by Josh Cabrido 

smartphone, 
u r a misnomer. 
u constantly misunderstand me. 
and all the smartest people i know 
know understanding 
is the basis 
of a healthy relationship. 
smartphone, 
i tell u one thing, 
u say another. 
did my thumb slip? 
smartphone, 
my refusal to capitalize 
is intentional. 
smartphone, 
my way of 
saying the world, 
though flawed, 
is the sum 
the totality 
the accumulation 
of my everything. 
a tongue 
that rose from the ashes 
of immigrant accents 
and was shaped 
by the secret codes 
of friendship.
so, quite frankly, 
smartphone, 
i find ur suggestions 
condescending. 
remember when 
i left u 
silent on the table 
and u kept calling out to me 
beeping for a charge? 
admit it smartphone: 
u need me 
more than i need u. 
but just so u know 
just as long as we r 
stuck together 
just as long as u r 
my map 
my memory 
my connection to everything 
i want u to know 
when i started this poem 
on the subway 
eyes downcast 
blind to the world 
when i started this poem 
“loneliness” 
i appreciate 
ur sentiment.

Josh Cabrido is a 20 year-old writer of poetry and short stories from San Jose, California. He currently lives in Brooklyn. His greatest fear is that the people his poetry and short stories are about will discover his poetry and short stories are about them. His greatest hope is to one day write a poem or short story that’s a totally made up lie. Until then, he will continue to write only what he knows as truth.