A Prisoner's Prayer

So cold. So dark. Lost.
Trapped in a cage of my own creation.
Where are you? I plead.

Have you forgotten me?

We used to speak. I think.
But I don’t remember when.
Was I a child? Am I still?

Where are you now?

I lie here in the dark.
Locked within walls.
Confined to a world of my own making.

Are you even here?

I speak to shadows on the walls.
Figures in my mind. Ghosts in the dark.
Sometimes I think they are you.

Are they?

Laughing. Mocking. Wasted.
Lost in desperation. Regret.
I never knew there were choices.

Did you ever tell me?

Sometimes I wish I could remember.
Before. When there were dreams
Hope. Future.

Can you help me to remember?

Since darkness is always stronger
After the sunlight.
Please help me to forget again.

And do the same tomorrow.

*(Dedicated to and inspired by the prisoner's at Cotton Correctional that I worked with many years ago. And for anyone else that feels like a prisoner at times too.)