ELYSIUM

Dreamt of a world, where distance was imagination Digital screens that separated angels Hearts trapped in glass cages Like rabid dogs, drooling from the mouth Parents shouting, in the living room One threw a vase, lucky it missed your mother’s face Pieces of glass, stepped on it and we all laughed Memories, cyclical, on kik for five hours Digital avatars - imagination filled the blanks Heart would swell up when she said thanks, heart emoji back - no problem This is the first time I stepped outside, for lunch, faces I don’t recognize Crying inside, why did I leave my best friends On the other side of the world, when my soul jumped Into a body, crying, baby and mother - scalpel nearby A celebration - caesar has come out of the cesarean A parody of parity - apparently father was an artistè - gave up on it early so now the son has to be the martyr Going crazy - mind is broken - five years old running from the dark Middle fingers to the mahogany door, sad yet broken laptop a personal neotopia While mother was at nightclubs, alone at home developing Agoraphobia Worshipped the mystique - celebrity culture became a vulture of my sanity Exposed vain structures, laid dormant, neurons intensified - dopamine cravings an enslavement of my waking world I dreamt of Elysium as a young kid I saw the internet as an interconnected web where I could tap in Floating on the strands, yet I could not see, felt like Beethoven on the keys You play the game Trying to feel something Looking at a digital screen Separating you and the angel of your dreams Yet you danced - and they did too Snapped a screenshot and hung it at the Louvre Falling asleep to the tune of their snores Calculating air fare between continents - wistful, hoping, dropping dollars into a styrofoam container But all your effort could not sustain her - lack of physical touch in a digital world Neuron possessed, obsessions unfurl I did it in the name of cathartic release A happiness that never made me free Lies fed to my own pride Hung my head - in defeat And woke up next day to smile The madness must continue We must chase Elysium until our brains are completely subdued by algorithmic formulas created to- you’ve said enough for today