Listen to the whispers as they resonate and become a voice for humanity. From rock bottom we can rise. We can walk from the ashes of defeat. Hear. Taste. Smell. Touch. Together we are a society. We can take our place, dignity regained.
Incarcerated: 7 years
Housed: Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, South Burlington, Vermont
I never know where to start. I feel like I’m trudging through a marsh, impossible to escape, trapped in the monotonous maw that is “corrections.” I’m trudging and pulling an invisible line that’s tethered to an incredible force, but I don’t give up. I keep walking, crawling. If I have to, I’ll crawl on hands and knees, pulling a dead weight that forces me to keep looking back. I won’t be broken. You can cage me, beat me, rape me, dehumanize me. The tree of life takes root even in the dark. The mind, a vast cavernous landscape, can remain untainted by human negativity. Knowledge protects the mind from invasion by any enemy and light breaks through darkness. Shine on, sisters and brothers. See that light. Focus the beam on a vision of change. We are all light refracted sent to fill the void. Hear my voice echo and reverberate off the walls. Hear it penetrate layer after layer of sexism, racism, and bigotry. Listen to the whispers as they resonate and become a voice for humanity. From rock bottom we can rise. We can walk from the ashes of defeat. Hear. Taste. Smell. Touch. Together we are a society. We can take our place, dignity regained.
