Prison

My youngest brother was recently sent to prison. I visited him for the first time.

Prison

I carry fear in a plastic bag
Emptying pockets
But not my heart.
The locker key says number 144
But there’s no number for my
Love for you

Life hidden in a box
I turn the key
And wait
For someone else to open a door
So I can see the shoots that grew from
The thousand seeds
I've sown in fields of hope.

You cannot see them grow
From that window there
Beyond the bars of regret
And the sharp glare of sun
Sparkling on barbed hate,
But I saw geese fly
Over fertile fields just out of your sight
And flowers by the roadway.
You must trust the One
More real than fear.

My only valuable locked up is you.