In Solitary

So many one-player games to amuse us,
So many arm's-length social apps,
Tee-vee dinners and serial programs,
Movies on disks and vids on demand.
Incarceration has never been finer!
Entertainments out the penal wazoo . . .
Who can complain, if no one sits near us?
Bang on a pipe if you fancy a chat.
Walks in the yard--such invigoration!
Lift some weights and jog a few laps,
Wave at the gagged-up faces around you--
Expressionless ovals bisected by bars.
Time to turn in! Oh, who needs a partner
Who'll toss and tremble and rumple the sheets?
Who needs freedom and friendship and sanity?
We're much better off in our sanitized cells.