Authentication
Published by Poetry Quarterly, Fall 2019
There are ties that bind
tighter than rope;
chains to restrain
movement;
muzzles to censor
speech and thought.
Mentors, family members,
friends direct you to
THEIR sanctuary,
where they’ve grown
accustomed to the rattle
of shackles,
where they tell themselves
THEIR pain would abate
if you
were tethered with them.
Give no heed.
The ropes you cut
and restraints you loose
produce
YOUR liberty bell,
the peals of which
ring out like high notes
of the most beautiful
opera.
Be glad you navigated
your own ship
for you will take no one along
when you sail off this hemisphere,
when you answer the last call
you will ever hear.
Copyright © 2019 by Fan4-45years. All rights reserved.
