Not just the headlines, but the whole story..

Despite being someone who reads quite fast

I’ve found that my attention span does not last

Long enough for me to read an article in its entirety

I am looking for a synopsis or a summary

Of the major points because it seems to take

Too many grey cells to read through and make

My own impression- I want to just get the gist

The temptation to divert my attention elsewhere I cannot resist

*

I skim through the highlights and convince myself I’ve understood

As much about the topic as I would

By reading each word and each line

I’ve read the salient points and that should be just fine

*

Later I realize it has been hard to retain

The information I’d read, I know I should not complain

I skipped the details earlier, there is a price to pay

For taking a shortcut, what else can I say?

*

In an era where AI can instantly summarize

Any topic in seconds, I’ve come to realize

That anything worth reading should be

Read word by word, in its entirety

And as for my limited attention span

It’s not going to improve if all I do is scan

An article instead of making an effort

To read it with concentration, word by word

*

So instead of browsing my medical journal, I’ve decided today

That I shall pick the most interesting article and read it all the way

My relationship with reading is getting frayed

It is time for major amends to be made