I wrote this poem on 3-March-2025. And if you read the essay on living under a rock, and / or the poem Cyclone Alfred is coming (2025) – this will make sense on connecting the themes of this poem with them.
Isn't it ironic?
My first job was about mobiles.
007 network shut down,
Migration to 018 network.
Today I remain disconnected.
Little did I know, day 1 of first job,
That in my future,
Mobiles would allow the world to access me,
Any time Anywhere, unless I had boundaries.
I remember the times,
In the landline era,
Friends and family hesitated to call,
At times deemed late and personal time.
Over time we all grew up,
With the evolution of mobiles,
The size the shapes the colours,
Until it came to be known as smart.
The change in the game,
I took a while to adopt.
They spoke of apps,
I knew nothing about.
Unknown to me,
This mobile began to rule,
My thoughts and energy,
It drained me without my say.
Then one fine day,
In October 2024,
I decided to detox,
From the mobile,
My energy depleted needed nourishment.
It was hard at first,
Phone in another room,
The pull to check it constantly,
Resistance I needed to learn.
Today, nearly 6 months on,
It's a habit that comes easy,
As the clock turns past 6pm,
As day turns to night,
My mobile goes to sleep,
I disconnect and I go to sleep.
Isn't it ironic?
Some 25 years later,
I'm using one phone,
To write this poem,
While another is off out of reach.
Technology can be helpful.
Though if you allow it,
Technology can creep into life.
In ways you don't notice,
For this is your new normal.
It is not ironic,
That I once was tied to my phone,
Responsive to all contact,
Day or night,
That today I write,
That may help another.
Being accessible,
Drained me head to toe.
My own boundaries,
I had let go.
There's much to gain,
From being able to disconnect.
I encourage anyone
To try it in ways safe and suitable for them.
No matter who you are,
No matter where you are,
When you next reach for the phone,
Take a pause,
Check your mind,
Check your body,
Check your emotions,
Before you change your state.
The presence of mind needed,
In that moment,
You reach for the phone.
Is the compromise,
This moment,
Sums up over time.
Life and all it offers,
Gone in the blink of an eye.
Written: 03-March-2025
Published: First time here (minor edits before publishing)
Linda G Thorpe
P.S
This poem was written six months into consciously disconnecting from my mobile device at night. It has now been just on two years and the habits continue.
This poem is not intended to provide guidance or suggestions that what worked for me will work for them.
There are people a lot smarter than me, in specialist fields about the human mind and body, that have put information out there about disconnecting – you can find them as I did, and from whom the realisation was born, to disconnect the way I did, and it has worked for me.
