we built a mirror
that knows our wants before we do.
now we forget how.
we aimed for the stars.
we built a cage of concepts
and called it freedom.
an algorithm
reads my deepest fear,
then serves me
an ad for soft shoes.

the screen glow connects
a planet of lonely hearts.
nobody touches.
my reach is worldwide.
my impact is a like button.
my empire is small.
a thousand voices
stream into my silent room.
i have nothing to say.
the device knows all,
my pulse,
my route,
my desire.
i know its terms?
no.

we asked for the truth.
the network gave us a feed
perfectly tailored.
we sing into voids,
curate our digital souls.
the void does not sing back.
more memory,
more
storage for a self i can't
remember being.
the signal is strong.
the meaning is weak static.
we are amplified.

faster,
smarter,
more,
the hunger we coded machines
to fix,
grows in us.
we traded wonder
for a perfect answer,
and
lost the question's art.
we built a mirror
that knows our wants before we do.
this is the edifice.