A SIMPLE SENTENCE

I am here. I get out. I am escorted. I walk in. I stand in line. I see a room. I go in. I wait. I talk. I say nothing. I talk. I wait. I am fed. I drink. I am called. I undress. I am observed. I have no clothes. I stand in line. I wait. I wash. I stand in line. I wait. I take clothes. I dress. I stand in line. I wait. I move along. I reply. I have a number. I walk in line. I go up stairs. I go in. I hear the key.

There is another. There are tiles. There is a shelf. There are bunks. There is a jug. There are mugs. There is a toothbrush. There are bowls. There is a radiator. There are pipes. There is tooth powder. There are two pots. There is a window. There are two blankets. There is nothing else.

We look. We say hello. We talk. We say nothing. We exchange words. We offer. We confer. We accept. We must share. We divide. We agree. We arrange. We lie down. We stop talking. We are silent. We are alone.

It is night. It is hot. It is restless. It is not easy. It is a dream. It is waking. It is uncomfortable. It must be borne. It is waking. It is dreaming. It is the keys. It is the sound. It is the keys. It is approaching.  It is the door. It is this door. It is open. It is waking. It is not. It is a dream. It is waking in a dream. It becomes complex. It is a dream within a dream. It is getting up. It is getting up from getting up. It is a nightmare. It is a spiral. It is a whirlpool. It is the night. It is over. It is peace.  It is day.

Get up. Get washed. Get slopped out. Get dressed. Get in line. Get food. Get in line. Get back. Get in line. Get moving. Get upstairs. Get back. Get going. Get back in. Get, get, get, get, get on with it.

We eat. We talk again. We exchange words. We begin. We ask questions. We answer. We say things. We learn. We sympathise. We try. We commiserate. We understand. We have no choice. We agree. We will not fight. We swear. We will pee. We will not shit. We smile. We say more. We laugh. We are acquaintances. We have no choice. We ask more. We learn more. We stop eating. We tidy. We lie down. We are silent. We are alone.

Get up. Get washed. Get slopped out. Get dressed. Get in line. Get food. Get in line. Get back. Get in line. Get moving. Get upstairs. Get back. Got going. Get back in. Get, get, get, get, get on with it.

They take us out. They herd us around. They tell us walk. They tell us silence. They yell us silence. They yell us exercise. They yell us move. They watch us. They leave us alone. They wait for us.  They tell us enough. They yell us stop. They herd us back. They leave us alone. They show us no care. They are not us. They are definitely not us.

We hardly talk. We idle. We rest. We read. We exist. We are silent. We have no choice. We wait. We are alone.

You. You are here. You are in me. You are inside me. You are here. You are not here. You are here. You are not here. You are here. You are not here. You are not here. You cannot be. You must not be. You must live. You are there. You are there. You sat. You sat there. You saw. You looked. You listened. You heard. You heard it all. You sat there. You cried. You stood. You stood crying. You waved. You smiled. You were brave. You were so brave. You watched me disappear.

Get up. Get washed. Get slopped out. Get dressed. Get in line. Get food. Get in line. Get back. Get in line. Get moving. Get upstairs. Get back. Got going. Get back in. Get, get, get, get, get on with it.

It is night again.