On poetry, txtng n stuf

from http://www.davidcrystal.com/DC_articles/Internet12.pdf
a text poem by Norman Silver

txt commndmnts

1   u shall uv ur mobil fone with all ur hart
2   u & ur fone shall neva b  apart
3   u shall nt lust aftr ur neibrs fone nor thiev
4   u shall b prcpard @ all times 2 tXt & 2 rccv
5   u shall use LOL & othr acronyms in conversatns
6   u shall be zappy with ur as*r*sks & exc!matns!!
7   u shall abbrevi8 & rite words like theyr sed
8   u shall nt speak 2 sum1 face2face if u cn msg em insted
9   u shall nt shout with capitls XEPT IN DIRE EMERGENCY
10 u shall nt consult a ninglish dictnry
* * * * *
I use my cell/mobile phone for three main functions:

1) Calling other people/receiving calls.
2) Waking me up in the morning/using the "alarm" function in various ways
3) Checking the time.

I rarely ever text anyone.  I don't pay the surcharge for unlimited texts/texting because I text so infrequently, and whenever I do I resort to using lots of abbreviations to save space and money.  It bothers me to do this, though.  I'd much rather type words whole even if it takes longer to write and send the mesage but I don't think it'd be worth paying the extra whatever-amount to indulge my love of orthography.

My immediate reaction to the poem above is the same as my reaction to learning that "bajillion" is recognized as a word.  But this feelings is swiftly followed by a giggle, an awareness of my pessimistic curmudgeon side.  The playful tone is unmistakable and infectious.  I'd be a complete hypocrite if I didn't say I empathized with some of what the poet says and is satirizing.  This is what I love about poetry: how it can evoke so many emotions in so few words, and in that way texting is just the next step/evolution in language and raw self-expression.  I'm not saying I'm going to accept it with open arms but I'm not going to tear my clothes and put dirt on my head and mourn the death of the written word.