Reading poetry in web pages

This was from Monday, July 30, 2007

When someone
emails me a poem
or a thought
or a cry for help or prayer,
the machinery takes the human emotion
and adds things.

Above the thought,
a banner teases me with an I-pod.
Answer the question,
shoot the rabbit,
throw coconuts at the monkey.

Below the thought,
in spite of the fact
that tears splashed
on the keyboard
as the writer contemplated
life alone,
and things looked bleak,
Yahoo added
'Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?'

In my world
poems sent by a beloved daughter
all end with
'show quoted text'
'reply forward'
Your beloved is not available to chat.

Still, it's all good
if you
can ignore
the static.