Two-way mirrors and guard towers
Behind every pair of eyes

The prison is there
Whether or not you can see it
And we’re each locked down alone
With the sound of our nerves fraying
The lightbulbs are cameras, and the keyholes are cameras
Even the bricks are cameras
With cataracts in their lenses
And morons watching their screens

Which is worse:
Always being watched
Or never being seen?

An anonymous god in his cell
Begins to fear drowning in his own filth
Calling out for deaf guards,
Battering the prison walls
With bloody fists and blistered feet
With pleasure and pain
Joy and sorrow and indifference.

Which is worse:
Always being watched
Or never being seen?

Neurotransmitters shut down
And drops of serotonin blur his vision
As he despairs of finding a way out