By John Grey
Her computer is a kind of lifeline.
No living being has ever made that claim.
The definition of loneliness
is to lose out in all directions.
Or to do something right
and be punished for it.
She has money issues
and only spam promises her
the riches she needs to get by.
Her Facebook friends
post pictures of themselves
doing better than the pictures she posts.
.
There’s always her family
but they’re like the food
her stomach can’t abide.
And there’s food stamps.
At least, her neighbor says
she qualifies.
But she just can’t bend her head
low enough to apply.
She survives by working
a lousy job
and by keeping her tiny apartment clean.
If only her paycheck
gleamed like the floors.
God help me, she often says.
But never to God.