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Photo credit: Carl Chapman

What are you to me?
Who are you to me?
Whatever it is, you are to me!
I live inside and you inside of me
Indentured, captured, ensnared
You are tied to me!
You may walk and talk, fly about it seems
They might deny all they want
You belong to me!
The man is condemned, and finished
What is he to you?
They might inquire all they want
I belong to you!
Our love is surely an enigma
Our lives seemingly a non-ending stigma
Many have declared love as such
Yet, here it is, everlasting like eternity
In state of flux
But, sturdy, consistent, persistently evergreen
It flies, it soars, landing on
Snow covered peaks
My love gripped in the talons of your loyalty
My heart, my being, my existence it seems
Indentured, captured, ensnared
Forever imprisoned in the fields of your dreams
So, do you still ask…?
What are you to me?
Who are you to me?
Whatever it is, you are to me!

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Tariq MaQbool

Tariq MaQbool is a writer incarcerated in New Jersey. He maintains Captive Voices, a blog where he shares his poetry and essays as well as the writings of other incarcerated people. His work has been published in The Marshall Project, NJ Star Ledger, Slant'd magazine and The News Station.