Ghost Town Group Chat

(bing) At twenty-one we never slept The group chat burned with stupid threats

“Tonight’s the night, no backing out” We’d meet before the sun went

down Now every plan

requires a poll Three calendars and traffic tolls

Someone’s tired, someone’s sick

Someone’s kid just swallowed bricks

The group chat is a ghost town Everybody’s typing,

no one comes around “We should hang out” is the saddest sound

We say it every month,

then let each other down

The group chat is a ghost town Profile pictures with suburban backgrounds

I miss the idiots we were back then Before “maybe next weekend”

became the end

One friend moved to Tennessee

One sells homes aggressively

One found God, one lost their hair

One sends memes but isn’t there We used to share our biggest

dreams Now it’s mortgage rates and recipes Someone says,

“Remember when?” The message gets a heart at 2:10

No one left because of anger Life just slowly changed the password

We’re still friends inside the silence Still together,

somewhere backward

The group chat is a ghost town

But every notification turns my heart around

Maybe we’re not lost—we’re just spread out Trying to survive in different

parts of town (ooh-ooh-ooh)

Saturday works for me. (chime)