I’d been
Working
In the prison
for 2 years
I hadn’t
seen it all
but I’d seen
a lot
so when
the kid
on suicide watch
standing
at the bars
naked
except for a
canvas apron
we call
the oven mitt
Shows me
a tattooed
forearm that
reads
Bravo company
and says
that’s my unit
and swears
he can see in
the dark
and swears
heroin
can’t hurt him
because his
blood is 3/4ths
either
and swears
his addiction
came from
burning
poppy fields
in Afghanistan
I stop
dead and
feeling
dead
inside
still
I
suck wind
and
for a brief
second
embrace
night terrors
amputation dreams
bloody hands
and sand
filled lungs
the smell
of burning flesh
and the screams
of helicopters
of benzodiazepines
and group therapy
as a small
price to pay
to be
standing
on this
side of
the bars
He smiles
and says
I been in
worse places
than here
man
I smile
back
and say
I bet you
have.
Source