Urban Android

We commute under Wi-Fi clouds,
walk circuit board pavements
to our jobs
in cities that spy every corner.

Cameras zoom in,
can read print on our morning newspapers
from space. They know what we ate
for breakfast.

Minutes scroll down information feeds,
every word is saved, every mistake logged
for future reference.

And our blood vessels are fibre optic,
hearts pump with text.

Human essence is downloaded
to online prisons, soon even our dreams
will be hard-wired

directly to a command centre.

©  Barry Woods

They see you: Stores using mannequins with hidden cameras 

Barry Woods studied creative writing with the Writers Bureau, Manchester. Appin Press published his first collection, Hidden Picture, in 2010.