As I sit in my grey cube

Illuminated by artificial screens and intelligence

I long for the times before this

In Florida humidity with crystal necklaces

And a feeling of freedom and untetheredness

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I long for bohemian skirts and round glasses

The taste of subs salted by the sea

Feelings of nervous crushes and possibilities

Sunsets and sexual tension kindled by smoky fires

Lingering tastes of cigarettes and s’mores sticky between moonlit lips

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Bronzed skin plump and soaked in cocktails and chlorine

Fog descending from ceilings dancing in neon lasers

Soul beats pulsing through wild hearts

Late night grilled cheeses crunching through smiles

A feeling my body craves and aches for

---

Soft burning fluorescent hellscapes replaced my sunshine

Squeaky grey perches confine my spirit

Fingers pushing texts instead of buttons

Metallic coffee dulling once flavored buds

A stress injected reality tolerated by fantasies of unconfinement

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I miss it, I yearn for the wild

From my cell I mark the years left in stone

Until my aged weary bones can search for the salt again

Desperate to recapture slipping dopamine sands

If I am lucky enough to be alive to do so

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Many perish before they reclaim their spirit

Dripped out of their bodies in every badge swipe

Pulled apart by every elevator ride’s g-forces

Turned into gravestones from stagancy

Kept from withering by memories of past faded sunsets.