Empty Promises

I stared at the statement, surprise mixed with dread,

a charge for something I didn’t recall,

a subscription I’d wanted but now left for dead,

its ghostly outline hangs like a forgotten call.

Another month gone, and what did I gain?

Just another receipt in a stack of regret,

for a promise once vibrant, now fading in vain,

a longing left empty, the thrill now a debt.

Yet I click on the box, find solace in rage,

as if the click of a button could still bring me back,

to a moment when hope felt like turning a page,

but subscriptions don’t linger, they’re quick to unpack.