sent from my iPad

a poem inspired by Steve Jobs

i was perusing the internet late last night and came across an email that Steve Jobs sent to himself, one year before he died. i immediately knew i had to write an “after” inspired by it - something about what he wrote struck a chord in me.

if you’re not familiar with his email-to-self, i’ll share it below my poem :) without further hesitation, here is:

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From: Sonja Ringo
To: Sonja Ringo
Date: Sunday, August 11, 2024 at 10:08 AM

i eat microwave dinner when
i could learn to bake rosemary
focaccia. i do not know how to
mend the holes gnawing through
my clothing like moths. i speak

a language only poets are willing
to poke at. i did not discover most
of life’s secrets, many still
snickering beneath boulders
of time. i am governed

by shackles of a society i bare
my growling teeth at. i am moved
by art of people who died long
before i gulped my first ragged

breath. when i needed to be
held, i was helpless to give myself
the softness i give others. i did not
invent the metaphor, alliteration,
anaphora, or any of the poetic
devices i work with. i have learned

less than i think i know. i am
a kaleidoscope of all
the people i have loved
or met briefly.

sent from my iPad

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🌐｡ ₊°⊹ ࣪ ˖💿๋࣭ ⭑ ๋࣭ ⭑ 💻 ˖⁺⑅♡ ◛

and the email Steve sent to himself:

thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

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