Alone
Sitting side by side,
each studiously taking notes, heads down listening intently.
A solitary student dares to look up, gazing upon the sea of hunched shoulders.
No one to make eye contact with,
not a soul to connect with.
Walking through the streets,
darting to and fro.
Faces blank, eyes empty, nary a soul
Looking up from their hands a glow.
Ears plugged,
hands stuffed in pockets,
hoodies up,
caps down,
bodies thumping and bumping upstream nowhere to go.
Biting cold steel constricting around wrists, clicking into place
Hands pressed on cold glass
shuffled into a metal and cement block closet.
Heavy door slamming shut echoes in the ears,
Not even the mesmerizing glow to imitate connectivity.
Long ride, foreboding silence into the unknown.
Thin silver strips spiral and circle an open patch of green
Brick and cement swallows all sense of hope
Doors open, feet shuffle, chains rattle, doors forever seal shut
That which was, is no more;
Or was it all just geography?
Mail Call
New meal times,
Told when and where to sleep,
Television as a privilege rather than a matter of course,
Smiles discouraged, treated as suspect,
Hope suppressed,
Big Brother eagle-eyed,
Brick and cement as far as the eye can see
Crowned by razor wire twinkling in the sun
Mind racing
Thoughts conflicting
Heart pounding
Always watching
Wondering what is next, who will be next
Each of us mixed together
Indistinguishable, same shirt, same jeans, same shoes, same vacant stare,
Five times a week
A simple singularity of joy
A twinkle in the eye
Lips dare to curl up oh so slightly
Heart races in hopeful expectation
Scanning the list of names
Today is the day!
A slice of normalcy.
Reverently opening the envelope and returning to the cell
Sitting down to read of the world now ages away
So Sew
Up, down, side to side,
Feed a little forward.
Up, down, side to side,
Two becoming one.
Up, down, side to side,
Interwoven.
Up, down, side to side,
The sum becomes greater than the individuals.
Up, down, side to side,
Piercing eye
Up, down, side to side,
Now bonded together
Up, down, side to side,
Fabrics of reality becoming the cloak of life