poem for a friend. this is old, but she likes it

She was born into a prison cell and knew the embrace of a straight jacket all too well

she was cut off from everyone and with nobody to hold on to she raised herself up

because her father seemed to live in shadows and the corner of her eyes,

so when she cries she can see his reflection.

she was numb

so she would take the barbed wire from the fence and wrap it around her arm until she felt like it was hugging her DNA

she was probably trying to grow a thicker skin but the metal hit her bloodstream

and she didnt become iron woman

but it sure as hell explains her steel spine

so when people started reaching out she panicked

raised in a penitentiary

in a state that cared more about crops than education she took the tar from her heels and rolled them up into cigarettes so that when she was older she could smoke them and taste her childhood

that bitter sweet taste of love and lies

like a candy bar

filled with razor blades

the comments cut a little deep when she walked into school with long sleeves in the middle of june

97 degrees but she had more fire in her pinky than the sun had in its lifetime

so she was used to heat

and when she was cold she would wrap the barbed wire tighter so she could feel like something was embracing her

she was put into another prison and it goes from dont drop the soap,

to dont drop the act

everyone is fake

dont let them see your real pain

hide it under long sleeve shirts that you have scars from where your childhood has stained your present

you werent packing heat, just a pack in the heat

when i first saw you

i wondered why you acted like you were more used to handcuffs than handshakes

and more used to to a metal knife

than a hug

so when i first saw you and extended my arms

you cringed and i worried because i was hoping you would feel safe

but everyday you come in with a different outfit

However if you look close they all have the same number

Inmate: 0001

You seemed comfortable in a jumpsuit

And i realized that this prison dangled the key to your cuffs in front of you

but you gave up trying to reach it

So when you werent looking i kicked the guard and stole the key but i found out that you preferred to stay shackled

you made yourself out to be a monster in your mind

but that’s what happens when your nightmares become your play toys

you blur reality with misery and call it life

scribbled and fucked up a piece of paper and said it was your past

so i handed you a new sheet and an eraser and said

“than this is your future” i unlocked your handcuffs but you still keep your hands behind your back

and your guard up

so i finally got the courage to ask:

why did you lock yourself up inside prison walls that only you can see?

why did you limit what should be free?

why dont you want to come out of your cell?

she told me

“it’s because the bars to my cells are written in the double helix of my DNA

my past would indicate a less than ideal tomorrow and my genetics dont scream success so i would rather lock myself up before i become a train wreck

and i began realizing

how can it be a train wreck if you wont even start the engine

your wasting your ticket to life so i busted you out and told you shed your shackles and be all you can be

and i handed you a piece of paper while you ran away from hiding

and on it was a picture of a cloud and this poem

because your roots grow deep into the earth, but the sky is always the limit if you just keep on growing