watching the birds fly (2021)

the machine beeps and beeps
shooting streams of remedy
hours shape into days
i lie awake among the entropy

i am tethered to this device
when one soul lives, another dies
they are playing God in this damned place
— but my days are spent watching the birds fly

the machine screeches loud
“Sir, please take another pill”
stale coffee and x-rays
blunted needles calm the aching will

i am tied to this single bed
within a small chamber in time
i have heard they built the metaverse
— but my days are spent watching the birds fly


(written in my hospital bed)
Den Bosch, December 2021