--- title: The Machine I Became date: 2026-07-31T03:24:44Z modified: 2026-07-31T03:24:44Z permalink: "https://www.poetryoflife.com/the-machine-i-became/" type: post status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 4710 categories: - Life Poems featured_image: "https://www.poetryoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Machine-I-Became.jpg" featured_image_alt: The Machine I Became author: Praveen Kumar timestamp: 2026-07-31T03:24:44Z tags: - Life Poems --- I wrote this after another day where I looked up and it was already evening, and I could not tell you where the hours went. I used to be someone who noticed small things, like rain outside a window, but somewhere along the way I stopped doing even that. This one is not about anyone else, just about how much of the day runs on autopilot now without me deciding any of it. I needed to write it down instead of just carrying it around in my head. ![The Machine I Became](https://www.poetryoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Machine-I-Became.jpg) The Machine I Became the rain started around six today, i watched it from behind glass instead of under it, another meeting had run long, the evening slipped away before i noticed it was gone; somewhere between the alarm and the last email, i stopped feeling like a person and more like a routine, wake, move, answer, repeat, even my hands know the motions before i decide anything; there used to be a version of me who noticed the rain, who stood at the window just to watch it fall, now i check the weather on my phone, and go back to whatever the day still wants from me; i am not tired the way sleep can fix, i am tired the way a machine gets tired, still running, still doing the job, just quieter inside than it used to be; tonight the rain is still falling somewhere past the glass, i notice it this [time](https://www.poetryoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/post/all-this-time.md), only because i stopped moving, maybe that is the whole problem, i only remember [i am](https://www.poetryoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/post/i-am-only-me.md) alive when everything else has already gone still;