the people i have to forgive By Scott Ferry

 

are all locked up in a room

i barely keep them alive

with crackers water

daytime tv the occasional

diet coke

 

they have been there for years

waiting for me to decide

to either kill them or let

them out they sob and mewl

in my cat’s voice

 

at 5 am and scratch my

face with my own fingers

(who knew you could

keep people hostage inside

your body?)

 

i think i will give them

the good news this morning

that they are free that they

have never been here

chained in my

 

hippocampus their spindly

arms reaching up my veins

their voices ghost paint

on my apologies i will

tell them

 

this morning the prison

is open and there is a

continental breakfast in the

lobby they can ask the

concierge

 

for their wallets and purses

and phones and keys back

i will tell them sorry sorry

but leave before i change

my mind

 

Scott Ferry helps our Veterans heal as a RN in the Seattle area. His collaboration with Lillian Necakov and Lauren Scharhag titled Midnight Glossolalia is now available from Meat for Tea Press. More of his work can be found at ferrypoetry.com.