Inheritance Poem by Cecilia Guarnieri

I woke inside this borrowed skin-
sentenced long before I'd sinned.
Beneath this flesh and membrane,
all my mornings feel the same.
My own cell betrays my will
I have to take another pill.
Every year steals something more,
leaves me crying on the floor.
Hope grows thinner, bones grow weaker,
and I dig my grave faster and deeper.

I can't close my eyes.
I can't shut my eyes.
I can't close my eyes in the dark.

The contract was sealed before I had a page
and now I am stuck inside this cage.
My body aches, it hemorrhages.
My mind begs you all to let me go.
It's supposed to be a privilege,
why does it feel like hell below?

You know I can't go the way I came.
I couldn't even choose my own name.
I beg you, tear this life out of me.
Release me from the debt you put me in.

The choice was never mine to make.
I have tried but I can't escape.
I wear a pulse that isn't mine,
waiting for the final line.