capitalism?

... and in the heat of the night

with walls growing closer

and sweat on the concrete

and slick on your brow

--I have sent you down to work

to hunch in the dim light

I have torn myself apart

and separated the component parts

and commodified my soul

so that transactions flow more smoothly

a hand-shake in the dark

a moment of touching

and the system is expanding

and skirling away from me now

--I did not think, when I was laying the structure

that I would find myself

so far from the center

leaning forward on the bench

I meant to draw every bit extra

into one thrust, forward

--so how

do I find myself, with something whirring

in the background

staring at the stars under the window

and the cool breeze

seeping under the glass?