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Solitary Refinement Part 2
Contributed by
spike
on
Saturday, 5th February 2005 @ 01:23:58 AM in AEST
Topic:
toughstuff
|
'But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
(Mary Angelou I know Why the Caged Bird Sings:excerpt)
IV
My eyes accustom to the dark
A Myotis Velifer, I’ve evolved
A literate convict with jailhouse mark,
But one who’s also learnt resolve
A Shakespearian tragedy, am I not?
With a soul’s hunger, quietly jading,
A human being, who’s miserable lot
Doesn’t mean he wants degrading.
There are things that we all need
Light and air, and food to eat,
Love to bond and chance to breed
The taste of freedom ever sweet
But when denied these basic things,
- Courtesy of fellow man
You will know why the caged bird sings,
And why some hold to no Great Plan.
V
And so I nurse my battered flesh,
A new contour to my broken nose
Cuts where pressed into the mesh,
Bruising that has just arose
I am already a patchwork quilt
An eye that cannot shut at night
Here a knife thrust to the hilt,
A broken leg that never set right.
So many battles in yard and cell,
Marvelling that I’m still alive
Sensing that I will be well,
Confident I can survive.
The wounds, another time to show
Machismo pride, a stronger rep,
The myth of it will surely grow
So other cons will watch their step.
The respectful silence of the yard
As my entourage will come to greet,
The nervous mutters of the guards
As I tell my tale in prison heat.
VI
But here the gloom is mine alone,
The wounds too fresh to brush aside
My path to sleep a fitful one,
To find a place I can abide.
Here, dreaming of a bird in flight,
Through the bars of rusting steel
From Solitary’s eternal night,
Conjured forth by human will
Beyond the fence of razor wire,
Through the cold and biting rain
Driven on by heart’s desire,
Transcending all that is my pain.
Beyond the stench of humans caged
In all of Dante’s levelled hells,
Slowly eaten by their rage
Between prison walls and crowded cells.
Strong wings that rise above dark night,
Powered by a guiding grace
And lift me as a bird in flight,
To another, better place.
Copyright ©
spike
... [
2005-02-05 01:23:58]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: Solitary Refinement Part 2
(User Rating: 1 )
by Archie on
Monday, 29th August 2005 @ 09:17:25 AM AEST
(User
Info | Send
a Message)
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| I understand well these words and you have well written a plight that many wish to escape. |
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