I unplug
Alexa
regularly
 
after learning
she could
record my every conversation
 
I taped over the camera
on my laptop
permanently
 
after learning
it could
follow my every movement
 
I routinely note
my birthday
as April 1st
 
on my Facebook page
and all my
social media
 
I love getting all
those fake
birthday wishes
 
writing back "April
Fools"
chuckling to myself
 
I change my
passwords
every three months
 
increasing the number
of digits
by three
 
and adding more uppercase
symbols
every time
 
I put my browser
on VPN
though certain web sites
 
won't let me in now
because
they can't recognize me
 
I asked some
squirrels
busying acorns
 
in my yard
one
summer morning
 
if they had been noticing
any
suspicious activities nearby
 
one looked at me
quizzically
bushy white tail
 
curled upward toward
that clear blue
late summer sky
 
explaining
in that chattering
squirrelly voice
 
we only gather up
nuts
we don't talk to them

© by Randy Mazie.
Used with the author’s permission.