There are traces of me
everywhere online,
some of which I didn’t
even generate,
digital doppelgangers,
spirit doubles
sharing my bread crumb memories
sniffing around me
I know this by
my digital echoes;
away on a holiday
I missed a package
and now I’m assailed by
identity phishing scams
from faux courier firms
bearing real names – DHL, Fed-Ex –
with beguilingly similar
website URLs.
They want more of me;
dangle tidbits of me as lures;
hold me accountable
for my actions.
Other echoes resound
with the knowledge that
I want another
trip to Manhattan;
that I bought the
Advance Reader’s Copy
of David Mitchell’s latest novel
on eBay
and that I just might
need conflict resolution;
a more secure PayPal account;
that I’ve been compromised
forgotten, inadvertently erased.
I like what I liked.
I’m like what I liked.
What’s next?
ghostly doubles who precede
the living person and
are seen performing their actions
in advance.
They’re building their profiles now –
of today’s children before
they’ve developed the personality
they’re going to have.
Adrian Hoad-Reddick, August 14, 2010