Fall 2025 - Vol. 22, Issue 4

coming home

after the accident

there’s something wrong

all appears normal

or, rather, too precisely that

so not the same

the colours are off

sounds are tinny

often from too far away

the betraying sign:

I love you, she tells me

and Julia has never said that!

who is this person

living with me

I’m suddenly scared

they warned me

it might feel like this

but, then, they would say that

to cover up

for how they’ve replaced everything

to keep me trapped

in a virtual world

or managed environment

though I did nothing wrong

but there’s no one

I can tell

cos they’re stooges

smiling informants,

warders, who don’t want me

to know I’m in a prison