Once asleep in a field of hay

February 10, 2025

Once asleep in a field of hay

Where worries and wariness just wash away

I spied a cloud while dreaming that day

A cloud of a particular design I survey(ed)

Viscous and opaque with a touch of gray

But wispy and whipped it portrayed

As I hoped for it to display

A colt or a foal colored bay

A cow herding a calf astray

Or a Bolshoi type of ballet

But the cloud had a final say

Precluding the Sun and its rays

I awoke from my nap sans delay

Everyone is Being Watched

February 09, 2025

Roger needed to choose his new eyes. Being blind since birth made this decision nearly impossible. Concepts of color and sight were all foreign to him. The doctor tried to get him to understand to no avail. It wasn’t until the young nurse seductively informed Roger that she was sure he would look better with blue eyes.

“How sure?’

“Extremely!”, she purred.

Roger paid for the transplants and the surgery by the close of business. He scheduled the operation for tomorrow morning. In doing so, it cost him his entire insurance settlement as well as his life savings. He always believed he would make it through life on the strength of his remaining four senses. He often joked that he saved a fortune not having to purchase light bulbs or glasses as he aged. All of this would soon change.

By the end of the week, the doctor removed the bandages. He informed Roger that he needed to give his new eyes time to adjust, as well as time for him to adjust to his new eyes. Roger followed the directions to the letter, remaining in his apartment, reading by Braille, biding his time for the big day when he could see the world as it really was.

The big day was today.

He did not invite over friends. He had no family, not even a pet. Roger faced this watershed moment alone.

In anticipation, he purchased his first light bulb. He turned it on in his living room before he went to bed.

Waking up was more auspicious than he ever believed.

Colors! He had never seen colors before. He could only previously guess what they really were. Now he knew.

Roger spent the entire day inside, overcome by a few headaches from taking in too much information at once. He even fainted from the event.

It was the best day of his life.

The next day, Roger decided to venture forward outside.

He took his time. He walked slowly. He wanted to see birds. He wanted to see clouds. Most of all, he wanted to see people.

He had hopes. But, he also had a new problem.

Roger experienced periodic headaches. Nothing bad. Just a few mild headaches. He called his doctor (actually hitting each of the cell phone buttons by actually looking at each of the buttons) and told him of the headaches. His doctor congratulated Roger on being outside and adjusting as well as he was. The doctor said the headaches would pass once he became used to the sensation. Roger thanked him and decided to head home to rest.

When he woke, his neck hurt.

The next day, his neck hurt and the headaches, although milder, continued.

His doctor asked Roger to take an aspirin. This helped, but not much.

Roger decided to go for a night walk. Less light, fewer people, and less to see might be easier to digest. His stroll down a busy midday avenue was softened to only a handful of couples out for a similar stroll.

That is when Roger heard an alarm. In turning (funny, he did not remember wanting to turn, just that he did turn) to see a robber run past. Instinctively, Roger kept his sight on the robber’s face. The robber briefly saw Roger. Roger (weirdly) saw everything the robber had to see. Roger knew how tall the thief was, the shape of his fake mustache and beard (how did he know it was fake), the small tattoo on the left side of his neck, the fact his fingernails were split and poorly cared for, and even that the robber was missing two teeth on his lower jaw.

When the police arrived, Roger gave them his description. The tattoo gave him away. Within thirty minutes, the police had apprehended their suspect. Roger positively identified the man. He immediately accepted a plea deal and that was that.

Until the next morning.

Roger had an urge (why?) to go to the bank. He did not have a checking account, but suddenly wanted one. The line was long and many of the people waiting had their paperwork in hand to help expedite the process. By the time a bank employee asked Roger if he could help, Roger decided to return at another time.

While walking home, the headaches returned, but only for ten minutes.

This cycle began to define Roger’s life for the next month. He would explore different portions of his neighborhood, then the headaches would return for a brief time. Every time he saw something new, someone new, doing something new, Roger would look, and the headaches would occur. The doctor scheduled Roger for an appointment in two days and told him to take it easy until then.

When Roger did return to the doctor, he met a variety of people interested in his life story. The doctor asked Roger to listen to their ideas and, maybe, want to assist them in developing his story into a film project. Since he was free of the annoyances of the headaches, Roger acquiesced. They were producers and directors with the finances to create the film and pay Roger well for his input.

By the end of the session, the doctor gave Roger a new prescription that would help reduce the pain and frequency of his headaches. One small pill a day was all it took.

Roger eagerly took his first pill.

He did not remember much afterward.

When Roger woke up, he saw his doctor’s young nurse, waiting for the end of his peaceful slumber. His surroundings looked spartan, almost deliberate.

“How are you feeling today, Roger?”

She looked vastly different in her military uniform.

“Where am I? Exactly, who are you? What am I doing here?”

“You are in a bunker, in a location I am not at liberty to disclose. You have been selected for an experiment, someone in the government thinks you are the exact person for this experiment. Your government needs you Roger. They need you to see things most people cannot. They need this information. Have you wondered why you have headaches?”

Roger found no reason not to say, “Yes.”

“Your headaches occur when we download what you are seeing from your eyes and their implanted computer chips directly to our computers. I am afraid it is somewhat painful, but necessary. However, considering what is at stake, it seems to be a small price to pay for national security. Don’t you agree?”

Roger had listened to too many spy movies to know when it was time to struggle toward an escape. The nurse banked on his reaction and permitted herself a brief respite while Roger made the attempt. It did not take long before the headaches began. This time in earnest.

“I will make it short and easy for you. Either you join us and help us gather the information we require in a manner only you can, or, well there is not much of an or to choose from. Roger, you have one minute to decide.”

Roger’s doctor assisted the county coroner in Roger’s autopsy. He included that Roger was not doing well since his initial surgery. His frequent calls and complaints of headaches, dis-orientations, and the overwhelming influx of stimuli was too much to bear. The coroner noted that the forceful self removal of the ocular transplants was the deciding factor leading to Roger’s suicide by stepping directly into traffic, in front of a metro bus.

The police report indicated no one at the scene located either of the transplanted eyes, noting a variety of dogs present. One of them might have carried the bloodied remains away somewhere.