New poem: Twin Prisoner Dilemma (Retrospective)

poetry/index.gmi

@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@
 => t/treatise.txt	A Treatise between Koriel and Solstice
 => t/twenty-one.txt	Twenty-One
 => t/two-two.txt	Two Two
+=> t/twin_prisoner_dilemma.txt	Twin Prisoner Dilemma (Retrospective)
 
 ## U
 => u/under-my-fingernails.txt	Under My Fingernails

poetry/index.gph

@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ iT
 0A Treatise between Koriel and Solstice	t/treatise.txt
 0Twenty-One	t/twenty-one.txt
 0Two Two	t/two-two.txt
+0Twin Prisoner Dilemma (Retrospective)	t/twin_prisoner_dilemma.txt
 
 iU	
 0Under My Fingernails	u/under-my-fingernails.txt

poetry/index.html

@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@
 	│   ├── <a href="./t/to-velouria.txt">to-velouria.txt</a><br>
 	│   ├── <a href="./t/treatise.txt">treatise.txt</a><br>
 	│   ├── <a href="./t/twenty-one.txt">twenty-one.txt</a><br>
+	│   ├── <a href="./t/twin_prisoner_dilemma.txt">twin_prisoner_dilemma.txt</a><br>
 	│   └── <a href="./t/two-two.txt">two-two.txt</a><br>
 	├── <a href="./u/">u</a><br>
 	│   ├── <a href="./u/uncharming.txt">uncharming.txt</a><br>
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@
 	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; └── <a href="./z/zircons_beacon.txt">zircons_beacon.txt</a><br>
 <br><br><p>
 
-25 directories, 164 files
+25 directories, 165 files
 
 </p>
 	<hr>

poetry/t/twin_prisoner_dilemma.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+Twin Prisoner Dilemma (Retrospective)
+2024-04-24
+
+***
+
+Viridi Bush, I wanna know
+what it's like under the snow,
+bark from dog's teeth half-ripped
+and surrounded by smeared shit
+and locked inside a haphazard cage
+until the very end of your days.
+Father tried to kill us both
+multiple times, or at least stunt our growth
+to keep us contained and manageable,
+and yet we've both managed to hold
+on just barely,
+to keep growing
+even if pitiful and slowly.
+I want to know if you recall
+the days before Father put up the walls
+around that section of the backyard
+to keep the dogs from running far,
+the days where I'd sit under a tree
+and spend the whole afternoon reading
+without so much as a care in the world.
+Now two steps make me want to hurl
+from the stench of piled-up feces,
+and I can't escape without alerting
+my mother by the sound of the garage
+that does not soon follow Father's entourage.
+I'd throw myself in harm's way for you, you know,
+if Father ever decided to reduce your existence to a hole.
+"This bush means too much to me to let
+you tear it down. I'd look out my bedroom window
+whenever caught in suicidal ideation's throes
+and think to myself, if *you* cut it down and yet it survived death,
+chose to survive
+and grow back and thrive,
+then maybe I,
+with hands and feet to crawl out of hell,
+can figure out a way to keep living as well."
+I wish I could take you along
+when I fulfill my promise to Luce and abscond
+from this sad place with my life and my works.
+Promise me I'll remain in your memories.
+I'll replant you in Sablade once Father has us both burned.
+
+***
+
+CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (c) Vane Vander