HUSH HALO is a dystopian sci-fi poetry collection set in a near-future, shaped by technology and irreversible choice. Each poem is paired with a unique soundscape in both digital format and in printed books.
CONTEXT: After the Great Optimization we all had a choice. This poem below tells a story of Systoics, a privileged group that integrated into the system, believing they had now perfected themselves.
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Common Contraband
Hush Halo · Poetry by Sam Oldman
Each of us carries a different refusal.
Carefully,
like common contraband
folded into their coded
code of conduct.Invisible uniforms.
Analog banners.
Unspoken expressions
detectable only by us inside.We recognize each other
in the heavy pause
before a reply,
in the slight delay
before obeying,
in communal decision
allowing a ciphered tell
to pass through
without scanners
detecting.That is how we find each other—
the way we always have
in times of despair
repeating again
and again.This is us
finding our way through
a Never Again moment,
once again.Refusal travels light.
©2026 Sam Oldman
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“Each of us carries a different refusal” gives the poem its center. I like how resistance here is almost invisible, living in pauses, delays, and small recognitions between people, until “Refusal travels light” turns that quietness into its strength.