The Prisoner

I know that he is watching me
I know exactly what he is thinking
Chained to a melting time, that constant drips
Still aching from the latest beating
He wants to see me lick the plate like an animal
and scream at the broken glass hidden in the watery broth
If I try to sleep
He will explode through the door
wildly thrashing and kicking like a madman.

I know that he is watching me
I know exactly what he is thinking
A shaft of sunlight
A finger of hope
illumines the cell
just out of reach
I want to thrust my head into the warmth
and taste God again

I know that he is watching me
I know exactly what he is thinking
At sunset, as the breath of God turns to blood
The gaoler will enter the cell, quietly now
Unlock my chains and hand me the keys
I will fasten him to the wall
and beat him senseless.
I will sit outside watching him by the light of the moon
waiting for him to lick the plate like an animal
and scream at the broken glass in the watery broth
If he tries to sleep
I will explode through the door
wildly thrashing and kicking like a madman.

He knows that I am watching him
and exactly what I am thinking.

Charles Antony