Tonight's Poet Corner: *C
*C by Belinda Roddie I give you a command. At first, you don't respond. Your arms hang loosely at your sides like mangled branches from a tree with a deformed face. I give you a command. You start to speak, but your words are cut as quickly as telephone wires. Still, you build up electricity behind your eyes, like you have something to declare. I give you a command. You're built from multiple strands of code, like a computer philosopher's full head of hair. You are not susceptible to human persuasion. You need keys and encryption to function. This is what we've created: a rapport connected by dots and dashes. By segmented smiles on a punch card. By reliance on a single stream of typewriter rage to make your body synchronize. I give you a command. At last, you've learned how to say no.