Zack Rogow

Closely Held
 
It talks to me 
	       when no one’s around
notices 
        every step I take
has contacts 
	     in places I’ve never visited
and knows 
	  the fastest way to get there

speaks languages
	         I haven’t heard
reminds me
	   Hey It’s your daughter’s birthday

tries to 
	 correct my choice of words
knows a great many games
			 I’ll never play
and the weather next week
			  in Kuala Lumpur
is suckled 
	   with electrons each night 

It’s even a pocket 
		   sarcophagus
for the numbers 
		and addresses
I can’t delete
	       of my late friends and loved ones 
who no longer carry
		    a cell phone

Zack Rogow is the author, editor, or translator of more than twenty books or plays. His ninth book of poems, Irreverent Litanies,was published by Regal House. Zack’s memoir, Hugging My Father’s Ghost, was released by Spuyten Duyvil Publishing in 2024. His play, Colette Uncensored, had its first staged reading at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and ran in London, Indonesia, Catalonia, San Francisco, and Portland.  His website is www.zackrogow.com.