Label, Ultima

Inmate - what kind of word is that
anyway? Is it just circumstantial or
intentional? Doesn't seem so bad in broken
parts like a scale song.

In a door I open myself,
Ma a name the kids call me,
Te a drink with bread and jam.

We come in all colors and
shapes. Really you could not
pick me out of a crowd.

Except for this prison dress
and my numbered tag.

Perhaps the way I cringe
when I hear the jangle of keys.

Ratcheting handcuffs cause
trembling in my lips and hands.

What was it I wanted to tell you?
Time makes me forget these things

But that's the way things are in prison
where I don't always remember I am you.