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The Sleeper’s Requiem

by Richard King Perkins, II


This is not the first time it has happened
but you have been told not to remember.

The secret plans to the doomsday machine
are buried in a lightless crater of your mind.

You have been anguished with truth serum
and the maddening pain of water.
So far, you have said nothing.

If you can last another fourteen days,
they will possibly forget you.

With weary certainty,
the man with the monocle and scarred face
is asking you the same questions
he has asked all the others.

What is hidden beneath the Face of Mars?
Where is the Blue Rose?
When will the attack begin?

You do not answer. You know nothing.

The scientist who implanted
the concealed answers is also here.
He places his finger to his lips, imploring silence.
Your blank stare reassures him.

Two weeks pass.
Your captors have learned nothing
and have made you forget this entire ordeal.

You are thrown from a moving cab into the street.
Seeking orientation,
death rays unexpectedly shoot from your eyes.
The attack has begun.

Just like before,
you will have your freedom

but they will never let you go.


Copyright © 2015 by Richard King Perkins, II

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