An Extraordinary Rendition of the United States

When the cotton curtain was raised,

I found myself shackled to my seat

from the opening.

They transported me;

Took me to a place

I had never been

and never expected to go.

The opening act was shocking.

I know that I wasn't the only one

because I saw others shocked too.

Between scenes, we were in total darkness,

Forced to listen to Lady Gaga

and the National Anthem.

There were no concessions.

The second act stole my breath.

It felt like drowning

except I wasn't.

I really wanted something to eat though.

It was like torture, but not really.

It was an extraordinary rendition

of the United States.

Reviews

[C.]

Good, justice. Liked the way you cleaned it up. ...Still seems a little too obvious for me, though. But of course I'm a subtlety-junkie. Last line hits the reader well. And the one-line stanza--"There were no concessions"--was very well-done. Powerful. My only other critique is that perhaps you could vary your word-choice up a bit... use some words we don't normally hear, some words that are off-the-beaten-path, so to speak. Otherwise sometimes it comes across as too easy. But the piece as a whole is quite good. Looking forward to more from you, as always.