Convergence of Liberty and Chains
By Krystal Brown
© Ariana Harley
We have more people in jail
than anywhere else
in the world.
Upon release your world
is paralyzed.
Your opportunities shriveled
like a limb with polio.
No one wants to hire you.
No one wants to rent to you.
No country wants to allow you passage.
You are just getting what you deserve
you savage.
Right?
Wrong.
Because farting sacks of flesh
say something is wrongdoes
that make it wrong?
It was illegal for the colonists
to defy the British.
But they did it.
It was illegal for blacks and whites
to join in marriage.
But people now celebrate it.
Cigarettes are legal
Marijuana is illegal.
Gun-holding by the convicted reformed
is illegal.
I don’t see that in the Constitution.
I think that’s illegal.
Who is to say what is right and what is wrong?
Descendants of defyers
Dare to call someone a criminal?
Krystal Brown now lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. This is the short cover letter that came with her poem. “I became inspired to write it after hearing one of the many tales of the failed war on drugs. The U.S. has
one of the highest incarceration rates in the developed world. Something is amiss. Your publication is unique and special. I would not have dared to submit this anywhere else. Thank you for your time.”
All of you who read our publication know that this is not journalism as usual. Creating a sense of artistic “safety” is one our primary goals. We found Krystal’s letter encouraging; as we believe that the world will only truly change by allowing people to civilly, honestly and courteously “be themselves.”