Texting

Consider giving up ings

vowels complex sentences

abandoning adjectives

nothing left to parse

spin a weave of

silent sound bytes

paperless symbols

unrestrained by punctuation

string word remnants together

until naked towers of

abbreviations slang and symbols

strip bare the raw meat of language

once the essence

of human experience

spit out the masticated pulp

decorate with a smiley face

not all that much to lol about

A retired attorney in L.A., the author is a published poet.

Read more: Opinion poetry by Times readers