On Trying To Guess My Newly-Dead Father’s Computer Password

/in , /

[poetry]

check under the keyboard                     because that generation      no

try:      [my name + sister’s name]                 he liked me more         no


try:      [sister’s name + my name]                 or maybe her                no

try:      [childhood dog’s name]                  it’s the most common      no

try:      password                                       lord, don’t let it be                no

try:      buildcommunity                         all he ever wanted to do      no

try:      Bu1ldC0mmun1ty                              but                                    no

try:      humanity                  the last thing he asked for                      no

try:      [his birthdate]       it multiplies: [day] x [month] = [year]  no


TWO TRIES REMAIN BEFORE YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE LOCKED

ARE YOU A ROBOT?                                  no

:: click on crosswalks ::

:: even edge-pixels ::

i am not a robot


try (oh god):   [my mother’s name]  did he never stop loving her   no (exhale)

try to try:        [their anniversary] & realize I’ve never known it      no

try:                  [name of the disease that killed him]

YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF TRIES

Megan Neville is a writer and educator based in Cleveland, OH. She is the author of Rust Belt Love Song (Game Over Books, 2019), and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The American Academy of Poets (Poets.org), Cherry Tree, Cream City Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Longleaf Review, and elsewhere. She is a poetry reader for Split Lip Magazine, and was a finalist in Write Bloody’s 2020 book contest. Follow her on Twitter @MegNev.