Control Shriek
by Kevin Stadt
the contamination glitch
is a mosquito bite of the mind
offering flavors of torture:
scratch now, louder later
or
sit with the screams
cut deep and heal in
glacial degrees
a flashing popup window
endless repetitions crowding the crowding the crowding the desktop
warnings of infection
click click clickclickclickCLICKCLICKCLICK
as the scam respawns
check over, with, into, up on, out of,
echoing bottlenecks
fractions of truth loop
the diseased computations
of a risk management reject in
relentless peril
he lies through his skin, watching
history deplete itself, hearing
wails chase him into
traps of dreamed steel
he made his
stain, and now he
lies in it
crust cracked raw on the
tainted membrane
repeat, redo, renew, rehashreiterateREPLAYREPEATREPEATREPEAT
years caught in a stonework
maze, clawing fingernails
broken and lost
feet bleeding
spirit drained and crazed
while others pass through
the walls like ghosts
with a smile and wave
is a mosquito bite of the mind
offering flavors of torture:
scratch now, louder later
or
sit with the screams
cut deep and heal in
glacial degrees
a flashing popup window
endless repetitions crowding the crowding the crowding the desktop
warnings of infection
click click clickclickclickCLICKCLICKCLICK
as the scam respawns
check over, with, into, up on, out of,
echoing bottlenecks
fractions of truth loop
the diseased computations
of a risk management reject in
relentless peril
he lies through his skin, watching
history deplete itself, hearing
wails chase him into
traps of dreamed steel
he made his
stain, and now he
lies in it
crust cracked raw on the
tainted membrane
repeat, redo, renew, rehashreiterateREPLAYREPEATREPEATREPEAT
years caught in a stonework
maze, clawing fingernails
broken and lost
feet bleeding
spirit drained and crazed
while others pass through
the walls like ghosts
with a smile and wave
Kevin Stadt holds a master’s degree in teaching writing and a doctorate degree in American Literature. He currently teaches writing at Hanyang University. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Neologism Poetry Journal, Nixes Mate Review, and Rust + Moth, among others. He lives in South Korea with his wife and sons, who are interdimensional cyborg pirates wanted in a dozen star systems. You can visit him online at kevinstadt.com.