Disconnected

Poem, 16 April 2019

I answer the last Whatsapp.
Up-to-date and very satisfied,
I flick on the flight mode,
Slip my phone into the seat pocket
Buckle up and lean back,
To plunge instantly and alternately
Into my gripping book and deep sleep,
Exhausted from the already-long journey
Down the mountains.

It’s landing time, that went fast!
I check the pockets,
Gather all the stuff,
And somehow miss that vital companion
That has been by my side,
In my handbag or on my person
For the last seven years.
Imagine that, only for the last seven years!

We rapidly disembark
In the normal manner of flight travellers
As though our lives depended on
Beating the competition
And squeezing out of the giant metal bird
As soon as was physically possible.

We move through baggage claims
Eagle eyes landing with triumph
On our familiar green and black suitcases
And then towards the check in area
For the connecting flight
Where I reach innocently for my smartphone.

That “phone” that stores every piece of vital data
From air tickets to contact details,
Passwords to monthly schedules.
That mediates all my banking and legal operations
From making payments and sending proofs,
To verifying transfers and submitting claims.

That serves as my medium of communication
With friends, family and colleagues,
Landlords, insurance agents and utility companies.
That helps our fragmented family stay connected
Across time zones and vast distances
Sharing daily news, photos and endearments.

That eases life in a modern frazzled world
Tap tap tap to order a taxi or a pizza,
Or to pick up my documents or a sofa.
That has over time implanted itself so solidly into my life
Multi-tasking as my personal assistant and camera,
My navigator, photocopier, notepad, et cetera.

I admit it’s the phone and not my husband,
That I look at first thing in the morning,
And attend to last thing at night.
That is the phone I reach for
On the way to my connecting flight –
Unknowing and unsuspecting.

The airline was helpful,
But the flight had left for its next station
Where it was miraculously found
And passed on to staff to travel back,
Back to its anxious owner, me!
Hopefully in good time before
I left for my home destination.

But then the phone’s return flight was delayed
An hour rather than a few minutes late
And my efficient Singapore-based airline
Was to depart as expected, perfectly on time.
I hung around till the last minute
The final person to board the plane
Just in case by some random chance
The other flight came early and mine went late.

All communications at this point
Were mediated by my husband’ phone,
And we would separate at Singapore
To our fragmented family homes.
I would then be completely phoneless, and so alone.

I landed in Bali
and could communicate with no body.
I could not order my favourite taxi
Or arrange for my dog’s home delivery.
I had no clue about my impending appointments
Or the passwords for my accounts and all else.
I could not navigate to anywhere
Or order a gojek to take me there.
I was well and truly disconnected.

And I am still alive😊