Two Poems, by Phu-Linh Tran


I Learned How to Pray to an Android God

Today I did something that never felt natural before
I got down on my knees
and prayed in front of a digital screen
Watching it blandly blink back:
headlines from Twitter feed summaries
Facebook group updates,Instagram memes
They all formed a unified message for me:
Look down at your screen
Take in the words as true and believe
in your God, your Messiah, The New 5G
Cup your hands around your device
and pray for the ample data that will give you
the advice that will save your digitised soul
Keep you sanctified from the invisible fear
out there somewhere,
but you’ll never know
for sure
And so it was,
I learned how to pray to an Android God
No answers, or replies to my calls for help
to save my sorry soul, to save myself
Only headlines, hype and speculation
No need for in-depth self-analysis or translation
Only believing the words on the screen
is now the only way to my salvation

Time Waits for No One and Saves No One When Wasted

I sit here and ponder over
all the Time
I’ve wasted
Over-thinking
Over-drinking
Over-eating
Over-speeding
Over-spending
Avoiding others
Being angry at my mother
Being fearful of my success
And my own brilliance
Caring what other people think
Caring to the point of:
exhaustion
and stagnation
and procrastination
But while I sit here
And ponder
I realise
That Time waits for no one
Looking back
And pondering
And wondering
Will not give me back
My health
Will not save me from
Myself
Will not reverse mistakes
nor give me a second take
will not bring lost love back
nor erase the many errant lovers
I have embarrassingly embraced
Or force me to face
The fact that I was wrong
Many times over
Time waits for no one
Time moves on
As does life
Whether you want it to
Or not
Despite your fears
Or your feelings
It enforces change
Even though
You don’t want to
Quit your job
It brings new loves
Even though you won’t let go
Nor move on
It brings disease and death
Even though you promised
You or your loved one
Would be here forever
It brings the same inspiration to others
Even though you thought
You were the first one
To think of your idea
But did nothing about it
So make friends with Time
And do what needs doing
In the moment
You can make it happen
Because time moves forward swiftly
And will move on without you
If you let it

- Phu-Linh Tran



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