Duvets of silence cover the world and the noise
creeps in through cables and sockets
I reach out and touch the screen my friend’s fingertips
thousands of miles away my friend got rejected today
rejection on asylum
we speak encrypted I am not sad he says
I am
not sad either but devastated
We read aloud to each other on facebook and laugh
at how we wash our hands three times in a row
after fetching a padded envelope with more new cables
from the mailbox out there in reality
where everything is wrapped in calm and distance
My friend did nothing wrong 18 hours of interview
he sat through with interviewer, interpreter, lawyer
he explained himself accounted for every detail
prepared enthused and single-minded as he is
all the borders he crossed on bicycle and foot
while the world is hesitating and teeming
with messages half asleep
the body dries out so susceptible and tender
his only mistake
was coming from the wrong city
a city not on their list and the flow of news
gushes out of the screens and repels repels repels
the fingerprint sticking
but that’s not contagious
I was very moved by this poem. The pain and devastation come through sharp as a knife.