Overload — Summary

Goes awry the electrical circuit in the brain cells in my drugged sleep I utter expletives unmindful of the victims: I can’t help my sensory overload

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A speaker lies in a drugged sleep and describes what happens inside his head: the "electrical circuit" of the brain cells goes wrong, and out come curses he doesn't intend. The image is mechanical and cold, as if the mind were a faulty appliance short-circuiting in the dark. Sleep, which should bring rest, becomes a place where control slips away.

The most interesting moment is the phrase "unmindful of / the victims." The speaker doesn't say who these people are, so we are left to wonder whether they are real listeners or only figures in a dream. Either way, he knows his words may hurt someone, yet he can't stop them. The last line, "I can't help my sensory / overload," sounds half apologetic, half helpless. The mood is uneasy and tired. There is guilt here, but also a sense of being overwhelmed by a mind and body that won't quiet down, even under medication.

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