Telemetry

My radar glows too harshly
as it warns me
of incoming heat signatures

Time stalls
with parallel paralysis
My black box automatically recording
So I can debrief
in lieu of sleep

I hold my breath as I dive
into a river of static
My edges becoming porous
as I sink into the social debris

Silhouettes of ritual blur past me
Ambiguous smiles of mutiny
reaching for the controls
with their greedy, empty hands

But the smothering blanket
of constant noise
doubles as insulation

A loop of relentless pinging
finally traps me—the contest begins

I have to be sharp
But not too spiky

Calibrating body language
with regression toward the mean—
Forgetting to use my lungs and eyelids
as I hunt for the edges of my shape

Like a mirror violently polished
until the reflection starts to bleed