I haven’t penned a poem for a while, but something inspired me today, and here it is… on TikTok, for you. If you are a Tiktoker, do follow me on there, otherwise, just enjoy my poetic musings!
I’ve found another wormhole Another drain on my time I can’t believe it’s happened So I thought I’d write a rhyme Those kids, they made me do it Said, go on Mum, it’ll be fun So I logged in, started scrolling And slowly I became one One of those Tiktokers Lip synching to silly sounds Trying to match the dance moves On the trending clips I found But, back then in lockdown I kept my privacy Only sharing videos With those I trust, you see. Then life got hectic, so I stopped Deleted my account Until the call for Booktok Grew loud, there was no doubt Time for me to jump back on And do it for my book For a way to get promotion New readers I could hook I started out pretty well A couple of cute videos Followed some other authors and booktokers that I chose Then I started to scroll again FYP calling me Silly sounds and dances But something more, you see I found all sorts of communities Browntok, queertok, cooktok Watching listening learning Snippet clips that really rock I learned how knowledgeable people are But also just how biased I saw how creators responded They didn’t sit there all quiet One video led to another And soon an hour passed Jeez, I could have written words I hold my phone, aghast Tiktok, I do love you so But you’re taking me away From the very reason I’m here TO write, not watch and play! And, an aside, those kids I mentioned before They tell me I’m too old for this Well, that I will ignore I find myself peppering my daily life With the latest trending sounds A little dance here, a soundbite there While my kids try to shut me down Because, although it is a drain A little Tiktok fun And getting some more followers Is grand… will you become one? (Tiktok obsessed) Ritu 2022
But I Smile Anyway... 