echo-chamber

by Jessica Fanwong

you speak to the left wall and you speak to the right

you speak to your shadow and listen to its echo

you speak to button eyes and cotton ears

your words fall flat – 

your only audience is a worn-out rag doll who’s known better days

their stuffing barely upholding the illusion of life

as fraying threads become loose – 

remembers no memories 

three dimensional body and one dimensional mind 

blindly staring, unblinking while

soaking the rushing stream, growing heavier,

loses buoyancy and sinks