The Boom of Inclusion

Press that depressing button
on your phone
and feel that little boom of inclusion.

That boom is the tantalizing magic
of coltan minerals –
a spell unmatched
by the unmagic of written assurances,
by any supplier’s map,
by any signed agreement.

That boom is the shudder
of a baby swallowing milk
in the shade,

of a spade hitting into sand
in the tropics,

of a single gunshot
in the Congo.

We have our magic.
We turn pages.
We open gates.
We shift weights.
We change currencies.
We grind bones into powder.
We make tracks.
We lose track.

boom.