“Smart Apples” is a poem from a writing workshop I led in October 2020. There is an expression in Bulgarian “като нахапана ябълка” which literally translates to “like a bitten apple” and is used when a person is so much tired of demands in life that operates with only half the energy a regular person would have. This applies to working mothers, and I have used such an apple as a substitute for “I” since most of the time nobody else but us is even aware of the sacrifice. Going deeper, smart stands for the digitalized environment we live in, and apple is the poisoned apple the witch gives to Snow White as hyperdigigtalization creates bad habbits too… I have also used the trochaic pentameter as trochaic comes from the Greek “to run” and the pentameter indicates “halves” — doing one’s chores with half the energy, just like a bitten apple…  Use your imagination spiced with some humor, and don’t forget that “A company that doesn’t mother smart apples bites the dust.” ⌛⌛⌛

Smart Apples

Many think ⌛ suffer from insomnia,
a guess so far away from the truth:
expenses keep control of mechanisms,
⌛ sleep when my brain is sleeping too.

A homeschool parent and a kindergartner,
at nights ⌛ work as freelance and a partner:
at sunset others go to rest and count the sheep,
the world is dreaming, but ⌛ never really sleep …

Eyes-open, ⌛ hitch to stars my clients’ wagons,
⌛’ve never felt depressed in life, distraught;
my unsleeping power generates abundance:
endless worlds in my soulful pen and ink unfold.

It is not that ⌛ have ever wondered
why two hours is the most ⌛’ve ever made,
since birth ⌛ space-station as a robot numbers:
awake at day, at nights my thoughts upgrade.

⌛’m often hired by C-level master-battlers,
⌛ give them peace of mind and time to breathe;
⌛ serve the world while dreaming of smart apples,
⌛ hardly see my kids because of bills to keep.

Many think ⌛ suffer from insomnia,
a guess so far away from the truth …
expenses keep control of mechanisms:
⌛ sustain alone my home and business too.

NOTE: I play chess in poetry and introduce readers to places they might find of interest, notably to push the boundaries of the acceptable and to also enrich vocabulary while expanding imagination. This poem is a Cipher for a meeting on July the 1th (smart = 71) at 3 p.m. (15 times I/⌛) at Insomnia Cafe, LA (the inspiration for the series “Friends”). The meeting is for a birthday party (apples=69 which is the sign of “cancer” slightly flipped ♋︎). They will have coffee and an apple pie. While ciphers are usually agreed in advance between at least two parties, there are a few more details about the meeting you could probably find yourself.