another machine doing the same thing*

another machine doing the same thing
                           they whisper
 what was he like before words and all that
     other stuff started coming out
    those arrangements
                       does he think
          he makes music
       he makes lists or he doesn't
                          it's simple

     another machine held
         at his ear
                    they whisper
   in the whirring clicking purring silence
         as he speaks
        into his cell

*First published in Euphemism.