they didn’t remove it because it stopped singing
they removed it because it kept singing
and the singing kept naming
what was already in the air
i brought my whole self into that shaft
i asked the questions that needed asking
i filed the readings when the readings were inconvenient
i thought that was what the work was for
the labels came slowly at first
too intense
too sensitive
doesn’t understand how the operation runs
i went looking in good faith
for the flaw that would explain the readings
the report about me went into the file
and started holding up a beam that had already given
i was not the one who wrote that report
i was the reason a report had to exist
the inspector needed a cause for the numbers
i was standing closest to the gauge when it moved
that was enough
that has always been enough
you can survive this
but surviving costs something
no performance review has a line for
it costs the person who still thought
accuracy and safety were the same word
they still keep a canary in some of the older shafts
a bird cannot be reassigned to a quieter department
it can only be carried out
and the air keeps being what it is
whether or not anything is left in the cage to prove it
—lyra moon (the fire alarm in that building was disconnected for being too sensitive three weeks before the fire)
october 7, 2026