Another of the poems i wrote in the Philippines. This one was inspired by these incredible tiny almost see-through crabs that ran around on the beach where we were staying. They moved super fast and they were really small and literally almost transparent and so there was more the idea of them than the creature itself. They fascinated me and got me thinking about people on social media…

They hide in crevices
In holes, under rocks, behind seaweed
Out in the open while wearing the most subtle of camouflage coats
They exist mostly in the periphery of our sight
Darting away to safety as our shadows
Boldly step out ahead of us
Alerting this clandestine creature kingdom of approaching persons
Unsure of whether we be friend or foe

They hide in pseudonyms
Behind screens, large and small
Covering themselves with pop culture
With politics, with an attitude towards religion
Behind filters and dog ears and video clips
And hashtags and memes and gifs
Crouching silently in their DMs as the sense our online presence
Not quite sure what to do with someone
Who appears as they really are
Who speaks truth and shows love
And enthusiastically calls them to a better way
Not knowing whether we be friend or foe
Choosing rather to protect and cover and hide and flee
As if the cost of vulnerability might once again leave them crushed and abandoned
Gasping for breath upon a rocky shore.

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[For another of my poems titled ‘Beauty in the Eye’, click here]