This poem is published in poetry collection Paradise Beyond Pulse (2026).
Assume Virtue
Assume virtue.
Learn your lines.
Rehearse doubt.
Mimic goodness.
Pretend pride.
Comply out of habit.
Behave and behold,
as told.
Assumed virtue—
sold by the hour,
dealt by the day,
vanishing weekly
became circuitry,
a performance.
A polished silence,
made to be worn
like borrowed skin
on made up character.
Yet,
somewhere beneath the act,
this unruly heart
remained unfooled
— unforgotten.
©2026 Samia Oldman
WHAT IS HUSH HALO?
Hush Halo is a dystopian sci-fi poetry collection set in a near-future shaped by technology, silence, and optimized perfection. Each poem is paired with a unique soundscape created by poet, in Suno. Learn more in Square One.
Context: After the Great Optimization, a privileged group integrated into the system, believing they had now perfected themselves.
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Stunning. Soulful. Thank you!
I love everything about this, so much so, I didn't want it to end.