Pixels versus pupils
pin a hunchback
tapestry to my posters.

Rainbow diodes distract us monsters
from people, flashing lights
are the only sign
of life in this room.

Zombie wrists wrap keyboard scalps,
septic hands feeding on and off my brain.

Lines of code, coke cans, and
lines of coke can’t
fill the void in my tin chest.

No one told us that tin men
can’t see past glass screens.

Dorm-room raves are sleepless nights,
error messages and epilepsy
keep the eyes rolling while

Molly spends the night out with her
friends; night stays inside with me.

I keep it company.
Lonely, my screen
an open window,

one my fingers can shriek out of
in a language only computers understand.

They drink coffee to stay awake,
I take my Java black;

No sweet can wash
away the bitterness from the
tongue in my aching hands.