My Own Little Prison©

Trapped in this 6×8 cell

Surrounded by old cold metal and dingy walls

No hint of color

No luxury

I’m here to pay penance for another man’s sins

Mistaken identity

Wrong place wrong time

My innocence doesn’t matter

So each day I stare upon the ceiling

Imaging the sun and the clouds before me

The smell of clean air

The feel of the wind blowing against my hair

The smell of the ocean tickling my nose

My daydream is broken

With the sound of a soup bowl running against my neighbors cell bars

He yells out nonsense that only he knows the meaning to

I wonder how much longer I will have to endure his insanity

The smell of mold mixed with dirty toilets fill the air

I’m left nauseous with no desire for food

Upon entry to this place I weighed a flat 220 lbs

I now barely stand at 120 lbs

I ask myself where have I gone

When I don’t answer I realize I don’t have the answer

Suddenly I’m plunged into the darkness of solitary confinement

For what I’m clueless

Come to find my neighbor

Lied and said I hit him

He now sports a 4 inch scar along his face

Held together with stitches

I have nothing sharp

Not even nails on my fingers or toes

So how am I to have broken the skin on the face of my neighbor

There is no justice for me in this 6×8 cell

by Felina Silver Robinson