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)