I went onto Chat Roulette for the first and, most probably, the last time. I completely blame Ben Folds for my curiousity. I had my webcam and mic switched off. Something in the bored eyes of the strangers I saw looking back at me inspired the poetic part of my brain. I've constructed a poem-ish thing from the fleeting fragments of, sometimes one sided, conversations. It was easier than I expected (and less harrowing) but the hard part is that most people spin the wheel as soon as they see you haven't got your webcam on - I managed to get a few people to talk to me though ... Below is the result of our anonymous interactions, edited and slightly reconstructed but using only the words that appeared in the chat box. Because of the way the chat box works much of the text appears in reverse to the order it was typed in ... somehow it still seems to work.
{*warning: Chat Roulette is a *bad* place - please do not journey there yourself*}
[...] wait. [...]
from the ether
a fragment
of poetry.
Wait
for a small sign
of life
for a small sign
of light
in the darkness
wait
in the darkness
wait.
[...]
Hello friend
I don't have friends
but I will
yes you can
ok
you?
shy
you?
deep woman
woman
girl
a boy
or a girl?
je
suis
not
pretty
je
suis
une
poet
wait.
[...]
Hello darkness
hello
darkness
goodbye.
Wait
before
I
leave
you
I
don't
mind
if
you
leave
me
this is
my first
time
have you
been here
before?
oui
garave
like grave?
serious?
oui
une artiste?
oui
ok
you femme?
or
a butterfly?
maybe
a spider?
has something caught your eye?
what are you looking at?
did your mind fall
asleep
and drift
into the ether?
are you still breathing?
are you asleep?
au revoir
wait.
[...]
Hello
next time
the wheel stops
spinning
maybe
we will find
each other
again
it will be like
we're listening to John Cage
or dreaming in the dark
if we stay quiet for 4mins 33secs
[...]
it will be like
finding
a momentary soulmate
when i find
another
black square
i like the silence
wait.
[...]
