You wake up at 1 AM because vehicle after noisy vehicle is violently and deliberately decelerating just outside your window.

As soon as you open your eyes, mocking, ugly little transceiver squawks and thumps begin tracking you through every move you make.

On their heels comes, seeping into the air you are breathing, both tear gas and phosgene.

That’s just the start of your day.

Every day.

You are Ana Daksina, American master poet, in the year 2026.

*****


“People in office and people who want to control and deceive know exactly the people who will disturb their plans.

And those people are artists. They’re the ones that sing the truth. But when you enter that field, it’s a dangerous pursuit. Somebody’s out to get you. You have to know it before you start, and do it under those circumstances, because it is one of the most important things that human beings do.”

~ Toni Morrison

*****