Waking Sleep

In the woods of Belarus, veiled in snow, the edifice awaits

Horded close inside are the five, their every movement watched by delegates

One by one they're led inside, vacancy becomes their truth to tend

A voice from the ether, "The procedure is initiated."

They open the vents

The vapor settles in the temperate air

The five waiting, holding their knees, scanning the room

Finding nothing but rations, provisions that they promised

Years of transgressions

As they sit and wait, the memories give way to unnerving truth

A simple trade of freedom, avowal to stay awake

First day gone

"Bear witness, my young allies, their sleep will never come."

Five see dawn

"No talent more instrumental. No need to lay with the sun."

Fourth night, drawn, finds peace

Program devised by men who couldn't know

Deep in Belarus, under bureaucratic pall

Wake to the seventh day, a sudden end to their colloquy

Calm in the chamber now, an arithmetic anomaly

Faintly whispers start, the paranoia becoming clear

Joined in breathless tones, the five conspire

An incoherent choir

Watched through the glass

Under sway of the gas

Aware of covert stares

Silent but for their breath

Gather proof to make their plans

March in lines through woods of the North

A faction born of desperate times

Sleep a weakness to give forth

The ninth begins like all the rest

Take vital signs, conduct the tests

The screaming starts, no forewarning

Their agony is given speech

The wailing lasts until sundown, a sudden end gives them pause

A silence coating the chamber, the dread of something gone wrong

And now the voice from the ether announces imminent breach

And from the first they encounter, "We don't want to be freed."

The five are lost, eyes to the paneled sky

Their battered mouths speak in concert

"We transcend death.

We must remain awake.

We are the madness within you."

Wretched forms beat at the wall

Left to dream their waking sleep