Death came to me in sets of a thousand
that night, like a dreamscape set to endless
repeat, I must have had ten panic attacks,
the feeling of tightness in my chest felt
semi-natural after a while, like an ice warrior
sitting on my ribs, though the pain did not
subside until I lost consciousness, I awoke
in a frenzy as if dunked in iced tea or bathing
with the dead, a frost emerging from my lips,
there was a glimmer of hunger in my stomach,
I couldn't reach the supplies, I glanced at the
metal cabinet and imagined another freeze-
dried chicken packet, I gagged, but heaving
made me notice the shimmers of green
beneath me, the computer had come alive
while I had slept, it had decided to keep me
living, pumping fluids into my body, my vitals
raising with each beep, it preserved me but in
what state? The computer thought I had a
purpose to serve, but I wondered if it had
simply malfunctioned due to the cold.
