cancel culture

A spider’s web runs right across my phone

The drops from which we laughed, it’s held in seams

Each tap still works, to me its not outgrown

“Ping” goes all the alerts, despite the screams

I trace the lines like routes we used to take

Our laughter buzzing under teacher’s notes

The screen remembers falls we didn’t break

We trusted thoughts we never had to quote

A splinter cuts my thumb, I swipe and grin

Because your name still lights the fractured film

I learned damage doesn’t cancel us, twin

In class, on grass, in fights and flights, we win

So let it crack, we choose to speak, not flee

Best friends are kept by choice, despite the screen

Advika Maheshwary, 15