It starts with the firing of a neuron,
Electric signals racing to the muscles of your hand.

Klick clack go the keys,
Each press your intentional thought, emotion.

As you press enter,
A cascade of binary commands floods the wires of the machine.

Instantaneously, the signal is sent halfway around the country,
Received by my laptop like an arrow to the bullseye.

It only takes a second to load your message,
Another second to read it,

Another second for it to put a smile on my face.

My knees caress the soft soil
In the shade of a giant.
A kind giant of course,
My very own BFG.

He brings me life,
My very own breath.
He is a generous giver,
Never expecting anything back.

In the autumn,  
Parts of him fall,
Storms of orange and yellow
Obscuring my vision.

He waits for me in the morning,
Standing in my yard for eternity.

In the summer,
I seek his refuge,
Cool shadows lessening into
A blissful comfort.

To this sweet maple I'm grateful.

Rainbows of color flash before my eyes, but too soon, everything is black.

i wake up in a tangible sweat, in an unknown world. My vision is still unclear, but i can sense my surroundings. The room i’m in is devoid of color, my only possession stolen by the phantom of darkness.

i call out, to no one, to anyone, “Where am i?” For what seems like hours I hope for an answer. Tired of waiting for a nonexistent soul, i fall into a reluctant sleep.

i am seated in an uncomfortable wooden chair, facing three strangers. They ask about my day at school, how i did on my test. i envision a seat, my legs scrunched against the back of another seat, and after that …

i am on a couch, a glass of wine in my hand. i share a laugh with a boy seated next to me, but i don’t know what about. We sit, watching a generic crime show on the wall-mounted television. The boy asks me, “Do you want to see the next episode?” i say yes, hesitating for what seems like an eternity.

i am woken up by the sound of the door opening to my room. The light is still off, but the entity asks, “How are you feeling?” i reply in earnest, “i’m fine, i just want to see my family.” He tells me to wait a moment. The door closes.

i hear him come in again after the longest time, and this time i beg him. “Where are they? Are they okay?” He says in a eerily neutral voice, “Your family has been dead to you for 30 years now.” i think about this and decide that he is crazy. i fall into a fitful slumber.

i am ready this time, and when he comes in i ask to see my girlfriend. The entity says, “She is free to visit you, but you may not see her.” i am convinced the entity despises me, but reading my mind he says, “I am fair to everyone, anyone, and no one.” i fall asleep cursing him.

i am in a car with three strangers, on a bridge overlooking an infinitesimal body of water. i scream, causing the driver to swerve right, breaking through the railing. The car is fixed on going over the edge, and we skid off the bridge. In freefall, i tell myself it is just a dream, but before we hit the water all i can see is black.

I wake up in a tangible sweat, in an unknown world. My vision is still unclear, but I can sense my surroundings. The room I'm in is devoid of color, my only possession stolen by the phantom of darkness.