State Imposition

The unheralded entrance brings fresh hope. Words, speaker unseen, grind it into despair at point of recognition. Accusations lash the heart, strip the soul. Denial is torn away to leave no hiding place.

Torrential confession: a river of regret. Voice soothes until until the flow is dammed with acceptance. Quiet pleading tails off into silence, forgiveness ungiven, and only the ragged breath echoes. Weary, spent; defiance swallowed by the drain in the stained concrete floor.

A future, once blessed by uncertainty, now bound; utterly known. The addition of one to ranks of statistics harvested with efficient indifference.

For the people.