The Pringles

by Alexander Lyon, 17

Part I: Life as a Can of Pringles

I used to think the best way to go about life 

Was to treat it as if every day were a chance 

to eat from my never-ending Pringle chip can

That every day was a chance to down another Pringle

Because you know, you can’t just have one

I thought the best way to live was to embrace my Pringles and

the path of non-resistance

Resistance takes effort

Effort takes sweat

Sweat has a black stench, so I flee it–for another Pringle

Crunch. I’m laughing with my friends 

Swipe my phone every time it pings with another epic fail

And savor time as it seems to unfurl like an endless carpet

But does it?

By sixteen, all my grandparents were gone

And with them, pieces of me crumbled into the dust on my fingertips

Their absence makes me think, as Prufrock asked, 

Do I dare disturb the universe?

Or will I grow old and wonder why my trousers are rolled

Like stale cigars that stink of regret

Part II: Blindfolded to the mast

The question haunted me

Every time I passed Grandpa’s bronze bust

For Grandpa had lived for a cause beyond himself

And I knew I couldn’t live for Pringles

So I deleted TikTok and decided to do 

three push-ups for every Instagram minute

I designed my environment so the things that lured me had less power

Like Odysseus blindfolding and tying himself to his ship’s mast 

So he wouldn’t jump off the ship every time he heard the sirens 

This is when I made a film to honor my grandfather

And to my shock, it moved people

Part III: Immortality projects

That a boy like me

Who once thought the thing I was best at was watching my phone

Could move people like a superhero was a shock to me

It made me realize my minutes mattered

That I mattered

That the choices I made with my time mattered

So now I keep making things that matter

Instead of eating from an endless can of Pringles

And even when the hunger scratches at the door

I refuse to give in