Selected poems
The iMirror
To google
yourself
is the gravest of errors,
your screen is
replaced
by the mirror of terrors.
Age of Information
The age of information,
that cyber curiosity,
gives birth to a monstrosity:
we bypass information
and seek voluptuosity.
Networking
The phone's for losers, texting is a bore,
and no one uses email anymore;
but check my facebook, twitter, instagram,
and you'll discover who the hell I am.
Breakup email
I loved you once but now you're not the one I want.
I wish you well. I'm sorry for the change of font.
Crowdfunding for my fiancée
My baby sings like Taylor Swift
and boogies like Beyoncé;
so kindly open up your purse
and finance my fiancée.
The travel blogger
He wrote about the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
and yet the man did not possess a visa.
Eventually they proved he was a fraud:
this charlatan had never been abroad —
he'd never even been around the block,
and everything he scribbled was a crock.
When they asked him how his tales were ascertained,
'If you can't be there, imagine,' he explained.
The puritanicals
They make it their goal
to expose
the witch with the wart
on her nose.
Damian Balassone's poems have appeared in over 100 publications, most notably in the New York Times. He is the author of three volumes of poetry: Prince of the Apple Towns, Daniel Yammacoona and A Day in the Lie (forthcoming).