Escape Artist Poem by Daniel Brick

Let us assume you want
to escape...
We'll consider the need
on another occasion.
Is this want like an interior sword
that slices across the outer surface
of your soul, the way a sword gashes
exposed skin, and both halves fall
to the side, just dead tissue?
Are you capable of doing this violence
against yourself? If you cannot answer
my question, if merely the thought
of such sacrifice repels you, you are
indeed a prisoner and no escape will
free you. This place of dim light,
bars, animals howling in the night,
is your habitat: seek no other...
ESCAPE is not not like leaving your house
on a Tuesday morning, checking for
keys, address book, loose change,
and then waiting patiently for public
transport. Such daylight behavior is laughable.
You must be ready for weeks, live only for
the pure act of flight, your mind emptied of
thought and feeling. You must be prepared
to push others aside to make room for yourself,
And that book you failed to finish reading
last year, bring it with you. When the gates
open, with no jailer in sight, and sunlight
floods the cell and blinds you, adjust your eyes,
step forth readily. Nothing will get better
over time. This is the life you wanted
just ahead of you. Start living it.