Escape Poem by RIC BASTASA

you are in prison and you know it
there are no bars
but you simply feel the closing in of space
around you and you sense the choking
and tightening
of your body with so much pressure
against the walls
of your imagination
the concrete beams
and ceiling moving
towards the floor
and you are at the middle
of all these things

you want to escape
and you assume the shape of a very small bird
growing wings on your sides
like the new born leaves
of a seed

without still the claws and beak and tongue
you fly away
unhesitantly without so much waste
of time
& words

except the note
of a very sad song
left on the barren floor
for someone
you no longer love