ANOTHER NEW POEM

FREE VERSE

By Charles Patrick Norman

Guards tell me to wake,
Make my bunk, get dressed,
Wash my face,
Use the toilet now,
Eat breakfast,
Sit still, on my bunk,
No talking,
No reading,
No listening to the radio
While they incessantly count,
Count, Count, Recount,
Hour after Hour,
Clear count, in an hour,
Count again, yet no one
Is missing.
Go to work, walk inside
The yellow line, tuck in
Your shirt, or I’ll lock you up,
Lock you up, always the threat,
The iron fist, no velvet glove,
You can kill me,
But you can’t eat me,
You can’t stop my thinking
Of lines of verse,
Free verse,
In my head the words
Flash on and off, in color,
Neon signs in my mind,
I am free
In my mind,
Free, free verse,
Write it down, now,
Before the lights go out.

Charlie