By: Debleena Majumdar

It’s morning; I feel it.
From behind the choke
Of the closed curtains
From below the shroud
Of the bedcovers

I reach out my hand
To my trusted friend
“Get out of bed” app.
Black screen stares back.
Damn. Did I forget to charge?

Bleary eyed, I plug it
In the socket
My eyes dark holes
In a socket of sleepless hell
Phone refuses to charge

I turn to my iPad in fury.
“The coffee app” should work
Before my “Start the day” app
Another black screen.
iPad refuses to get charged.

I hunt for my laptop.
Waiting. Hoping. Fuming.
Where are my apps?
Black screen again.
No app, no life.

Appless devices surround me
Dark. Cold. Strangers.
Refusing to charge
I turn. I flee.
But where will I run?

I trip near the bed.
I see the shroud.
Uncovering the night
Of sleepless fears.
I fall awake.

Awake
And out of charge.