My
Brother’s
Voice
Malena
38
October 23rd, 2015
What happens to a voice in solitary confinement?
Does it bounce off the walls,
wrap around the bars,
or get swallowed
and leak from a ripped up kidney;
Does it tighten around tear ducts
to hold eyes back from screaming,
swell a disk from in between the vertebrae,
or strangle your fear;
Does it bleed through in ink,
the ghost of your laughter,
or pronounce a hunger strike?
What happens to a voice in solitary confinement?
Does it sooth you to sleep,
or pierce through the steel,
does it whisper to the wind
held still by a key;
2,4…7,9,1….
Does it report to a guard
who ignores your identity,
does it squeeze through the cracks
to the next torture cell?
What happens to a voice in solitary confinement?
Brother, keep that voice.
I can hear your cry
carried on the backs
of the small eight legged creatures,
who, like Mumia knows,
can traverse these lines.
Your voice,
it finds its way
through the air
that you and I breathe.
Brother, keep that voice.
Let us cherish your soul
that comes through your song.
Brother, keep that voice…
Your voice, my voice:
our freedom.