ODE TO INCARCERATION

And of prisons it was thus decreed

some would be bar-made and some unbarred

some to separate the free from the incarcerated

and some with lines erased,

yes so erased

that ‘free’ comes with query mark

and imprisonment is the worst kept secret

in the metropolis. 

And of the former kind,

there are those who are bowled,

and those less picture-perfect.

The goldfish looks with compassion

and knows the futility of keeping notes

but we,

we eye one another with pity

and even empathy

keep notes;

we might as well collect mirrors

while we wait the clock-guard

to interrupt the monotony of delusion

if nothing else.

[from the collection 'Stray kites on string-less days']

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