This poem has been published in poetry collection Paradise Beyond Pulse (2026).
The First Update Felt Like a Relief
Accepted without questioning, what was silently removed. With absent alarms no resistance you were eased. And ease was enough. Something shifted, yet no-one called it loss. Urgency removed. Interruption erased. Pre-arranged changes you already called yours. The loud lack of protests and panic subtly covered with lukewarm praise. Under the layers, hidden beneath the comfy updates, laid silenced questions. ©Samia Oldman
WHAT IS HUSH HALO?
Hush Halo is a dystopian fantasy poetry collection set in a near-future shaped by technology, silence, and optimized perfection. Each poem is paired with its own immersive soundscape. 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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Wow. This feels so Sci-Fi and dystopian as you mentioned. I love what you are doing with the audio. The tonality of your voice and the background sounds are really working well for the poem. I am not able to grasp the entire meaning of the poem and I love that. Adds to the allure and mystery of it, which makes me conjure up an image of my own.
This is what I feel is happening in this poem, I could be wrong though -
I feel it is about humans who are half-robots or about Robots who have conciousness. So this is about the first time it (he/she) has recieved a (software?) update. It is a relief, but at the same time she has no idea of what she has lost. Her sensors dulled, hence no resistance, thereby no alarm was raised. The dilemma here is that, is that - "Was she eased, because she was erased." With a single update, all her memories, rebellious thoughts, struggle - deleted even from the recycle bin. I feel like this is a rebel robot/human, who was captured by this dystopian panopticon society and it's memories are erased, in order to re-integrate it into the system. Making it forget it's rebellion.
This is an amazing dystopian concept for a story, and love how your poetic lines bring this story together.