the dead zone

i am trapped in a sensory deprivation chamber of my own making

stunned insensate by boredom

blindness

burning heat

too much and not enough all at once

sound blankets me like a quilt enveloping my whole body, 

an impromptu body bag duct-taped ‘round my bones so tight it chokes any thoughts

vitality

uniqueness

youth

creativity

etc etc etc

the world beyond is coated in a gauzy haze that obscures my vision and clouds my mind

makes me dull

insensate

useless beyond comprehension

i wander the streets like the living dead, shuffling gait hampered by stupidity and a rotted core, numb to the howling wind and the chirping birds and the dissonant sounds of a lacrosse game, coming as if i am sunk beneath a bathtub, hearing it from underwater

my flesh is pruning and my lips are blue from lack of oxygen, a phantom cosmonaut unable to return to earth, perpetually numbed to sensation. they’ve cut my line and left me floating somewhere among the stars, sucked into the dark void beyond. an empty space defined only by nothingness.

there was never anything here. there has been nothing lost. there is no tragedy to be found.