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 home at last
and this time not virtual
—our prison recast
(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)