The walls have been shrinking

all around me coming closer

til I am trapped in box

where there is no light and only sound

It is a New York apartment

Or LA or Chicago

maybe even San Francisco

some city where the rats

have more space than people

As I sit ever so still

listening to the sounds

as they slowly trickle in

I am struck by a rush of adrenaline

elicited by an excited scream

So I tune in

my only entertainment

in this box I call home

to the other boxes pushed

flush up against me

as the stories of their lives

lives I will never know

fill up my mind with wonder

the thrill of knowing

the deep secrets hidden

No they would never reveal

their truths if they knew a collector

was waiting to feast upon it.