Meltdown

The bars of the jail

those electronics we serve

our cellphones and laptops

new wardens in stir

 Ipods and Ipads 

to Tweet and I.M.

the virtual distance

created within

24/7

we Text back and forth

when Email’s too slow

 a much faster course

But nature is watching

and planning a storm

the power grid wanton

with darkness for sure

And who is to blame

as we cry and we scream

our minds have been sentenced

we no longer dream

The reckoning promised

has come back at last

and this time not virtual

—our prison recast

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)