Deceptions

"Forget, forget the past," they said
"You have no family."
And they made me forget
'Til all I had was dreams, not memories.
"For you must do your work," they said
"There is no time for levity."
"Your work is saving lives," they lied
And stored up blood and guilt for me.

It was a bleak and narrow world
Their camera eyes all stared at me
My dearest gaoler and my guide
had both betrayed and lov'ed me.
The outside world is wide
but it's not wide enough for me
For I must pay my guilt
and find the lost, before I can be free.

-- Kathryn A