…was always there
a little box in the corner of the screen.
If you clicked it,
It beeped.
If you clicked out of it,
It beeped.
If you clicked around it,
It beeped.
If you tried to delete it,
It beeped.
If you asked it to go away nicely,
It beeped.
If you begged it,
It beeped.
If you beat your hands upon it,
It beeped.
If you licked the screen,
It beeped.
If you crawled underneath it
with your hands on your head
and the salt of tears in your eyes
and swore on your mother’s grave,
It beeped.
If you gave up,
It beeped.
If you pretended to give up
but looked casually over your shoulder
It beeped.
and if you lied and told it
that you’d love it
if only it’d stop beeping—

It beeped.

————

Mikaela von Kursell is currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction at Florida Atlantic University. When she’s not writing, she enjoys making Claymation videos about mythical beasts and sea monsters that have <15 hits on YouTube. Her poetry, translations, and scholarly essays have previously appeared in Coastlines, The Explicator, and The Found Poetry Review. You can usually find her Claymation if you search for “Dobsy and the Deep-Sea Bucket.”