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Gift of Settling
It is handed to me gently,
no ribbon, no receipt,
no return policy mentioned.
Just a promise
that I can finally rest.
I hear wanting was the burden.
That desire made life unstable.
Reaching kept me dissatisfied,
making my mind noisy.
This will fix all that,
the generous gift
of yearning more
never more.
Promises of steady thoughts,
of mental silence,
of full body relief.
Removing my need
to measure myself
against what I could be.
To be gone those days
of leaning forward,
of fantasising about the future,
these days of lack and of lust.
It’s called a gift
to keep me from resisting,
from refusing to accept the fine box.
I don’t mean to be ungrateful,
but I kind of like my hunger.
I kinda like living my life
in the unknown space
between enough
and more.
©2026 Samia Oldman
CONTEXT
You are reading dystopian fantasy poetry collection the Hush Halo. After the Great Optimization a privileged group of people wired themselves tightly into the system by aligning with it and fully integrating. Systoics believe they’ve perfected themselves by stripping away everything that slows them down. Learn more about Realm or start from Square One.
Dystopian poetry by Sam Oldman. Soundscapes and images are created with AI.
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This hit me.
“It’s called a gift
to keep me from resisting,
from refusing to accept the fine box.
I don’t mean to be ungrateful,
but I kind of like my hunger”