Under
Constant
Supervision
Janet Kuypers
9/4/13,
written after the Ariel Castro hung himself
I kept them trapped
for so many years
I’d go to church,
no one suspected
when they got out
they persecuted me
and now I sit here,
square room, metal bars
I suppose now I’m
the one that’s trapped
the single light above
glares down at me
if I get as far as I can
from that one white light,
my long shadow
stretches toward infinity
that shadow of my life
seems so long
but I can still see
the end, as clear as today
#
I won’t complain to them
they’ll never know
what it’s like to be
persecuted like this
they keep me in
protective custody
they check on me
every thirty minutes
but I’m not on
suicide watch
if I was, I’d be
under constant supervision
I know they won’t
give me a rope
I’ll have to be careful
so they won’t see
that a bed sheet’ll do
even if they only give me
thirty minutes
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