Adventures in Literary Esoterica

Digital Gadfly

The cool glow of the monitor lights my whole world
while everyone on this side of the planet sleeps.
My isolation finds its foundation in insomnia…
but there’s always someone awake online.

Always scrolling, ever lurking,
My gag reflex triggers at everyone’s performative gaiety.
And how quickly they debase their own pristine image
at the slightest provocation.

A few words from my contrarian’s keyboard
is all it takes to set their world ablaze.

The real world is too complicated, too uncertain,
too constrained by social mores and expectations.
Online is where I find true freedom,
burning down the comments section to feel alive.

The digital gadfly endures alone—
one of a multitude, isolated;
dotted across the online savannah.

---

Word Count: 17

Form: Free Verse

Prompt: The thing that tries too hard to sound profound.

Written for: "PromptMaster !"