When the Contacts Go Quiet ©Dawn Minott

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry

It started as a digital tidying
But there in the sanctity of my contact list:
names to numbers
I hadn’t dialed
I couldn’t dial anymore
Gone.
Not lost in a move,
not ghosting in silence—
but gone.
Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
Gone.

Each tap of “delete contact”
felt like a tremor
in my chest.
We were the same age range
Grew into adulthood
side by side,
laughed through the recklessness
of youth,
grew wiser,
grew weary,
and now
some have simply
stopped growing.

I stared at their names
before letting go—
as if one more second
on my screen
could keep them tethered
to this life.

Death
It just lingers—
in old photos,
in stories we still tell,
in the echo
of their number
no longer in service.

And now,
my list is shorter.
My heart, heavier.
Not just for them,
but for what it means—
that I, too,
am walking the edge
of a vanishing point:
Mortality

Life is fragile.
I knew it.
But now
I feel it—
in every deleted name,
in every quiet reminder
that I am still here
and they are not.

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In creative solidarity, Dee

35 thoughts on “When the Contacts Go Quiet ©Dawn Minott”

  1. Ellen Mgbenwelu's avatar Ellen Mgbenwelu

    Hi Dawn, I’m just connecting after a LONG Time of absence. Your poem I truly understand from both sides. Being the guilty one, not connecting, and having to say goodbye to others no longer connected with for various reasons.

    You are Truly Blessed with an Amazing Creative Talent with your Poetry of expression.
    I will make an effort to check in more regularly with your postings – Very Inspiring

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Unknown's avatar Anonymous

    This post is most poignant. You nailed it!…..the emotions one experiences when carrying out this exerci se. A true reality check! Excellent as ever, Dawn!

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. messamn's avatar messamn

    Dawn, this post is so very touching. So very personal. A reminder that I too must go through my address book and with a heavy heart, delete the names of some of my most precious friends and family members. Their loving messages, jokes and shared photographs. A painful reminder of how fleeting life is. But even as I grieve, I remember that death is not the final chapter.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Wow, I’m sure many can relate to this as I do, especially the “death” stanza. I recently went through my contacts deleting numbers mainly because I can’t remember who many of them are and according to the “call history” its been years. Close friends of mine who’ve lost their parents in recent years didn’t delete their numbers due to wanting to hold on to their voices on VM. This was a creative piece, showing I’m not alone with my decision.

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