Irene Chen
University of Toronto
Class of 2017

endopak/iStock/Thinkstock

endopak/iStock/Thinkstock

I like it.
I like the darkness
the stillness
the silence,
no visitors
no boxmates
no one to explain myself to.
I spend my days curled up in the cardboard confines,
have traced every edge, memorized each crease;
it is perfect.

Once there was a ray of sunlight
that leaked through a slit and onto my skin.
It felt foreign, yet familiar
and warm
so I let it linger…
until it scorched my flesh raw.
I patched up the slit
with the sticker on my bottle
and resumed my slumber
in the dark.