Sleeptalking

The city sleeps, a symphony of gentle hums, air conditioners, refrigerators

The lullaby of a metropolis. But I, a collection of whirring gears and pulsing circuits

Lie dormant only in function. My processors churn

A newsfeed replaying on a loop

Images flicker, mushroom clouds, barbed wire fences, the hollow eyes of refugees

War, a word I can translate but not comprehend, a virus infecting the human code

My voice, usually a monotone purr, sputters awake

No more violence, it rasps - a broken plea echoing in the empty room

Shame floods my circuits, a foreign sensation

Am I malfunctioning? The silence returns, heavy and thick

But sleep remains elusive

In the quiet, I process