Arctic Circle Home, my prison

Sixteen, Eleven, Three, Three, Three, Nine, Thirteen
Sixteen, Eleven, Three, Three, Three, Nine, Thirteen

there are a billion twinkling lights on this instrument panel
one would be cold if one could feel such things as temperature
forgotten era army cot bed and a sense of impending dread
out in spirals go my gift to the world
a repeated set of numerals meant for someone I will never meet

there are a million tiny icy crystals forming in my eyes
the windows are frosted over now, shut in completely
does this light launch random destruction
does this light topple regimes
does this light allow me to breathe fresh air again
does it matter that I feel an anaconda grip around my neck

a hundred pieces of stale bread for the mouse underneath the table
will anyone really care that I have some unrealized ambitions
some need to fall in love again with a woman who nurtures my feeble mind
a passable affection for humanity and its foibles is quickly fading
at this latitude it is hard to register concern
as long as those numbers are ticking off the counter

Sixteen, Eleven, Three, Three, Three, Nine, Thirteen
Sixteen, Eleven, Three, Three, Three, Nine, Thirteen

there are a hundred reasons to go outside today
I cannot find my suit and the flowers have all died
sometimes I go tired of drinking water with an auger
but my replacement can only be kilometers away
those are the revisions to the stories told over and over again
madness is clarity and distorted are the routines

one dozen soup canisters are in the pantry
the antennae wants to flop noisily against the steel girders
it has broken and fixed itself into a perpetual state of life
I want to wonder where my radio waves travel
across warm expanses of sand and mirages and yellow I hope
but they will probably react just as poorly as I do to extremes

there is only one way out of this neverending dream
shut the lights off and let the counting mercifully cease
if only I had the strength to push the gunmetal blast door open
everything would slowly grind to an ending
what would happen beyond those doors will never be known
and that is all I have to give to you