I Wake Up in Middle-of-Night Terror
next to the warm sleeping body of my lover
yet alone in the conviction that I am in a prison cell
shut away, suddenly, from all that makes my life.
I sense the great weight of the prison
pressing down on the little box of room I lie in
alone --- forgotten.
How often do women awake
In the prison of marriage.
of solitary motherhood,
alone and forgotten
of exhaustion from meaningless work,
of self-despising learned early, of advancing age
alone and forgotten.
How many women lie awake at this moment
struggling as I do against despair
knowing the morning will crush us once again
under the futility of our lives.
And how short a step it is
-- for us to the more obvious imprisonment
of bars and concrete
where our sisters lie
alone --- forgotten.
See now, in this middle of night emptiness
how little it matters
whether we wear a convict's ill made cotton dress
or a velvet pantsuit -
We are possessions to be bought and sold,
We are children to be curbed and patronized,
We are bodies to be coveted, seized, and rejected
when our breasts begin to sag.
We are dummies to be laughed at.
I sense the great weight of the society
pressing down on the little box of room I lie in
alone forgotten
like my sisters in prison.
If you hear me
consider
how the bomb of human dignity
could be planted outside your cell
how its explosion could shake
the foundations of our jail
and might burst open the door that separates you
how we might struggle together to be free.
Erika Huggins
Reprinted from: Justice Watch
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login