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Sun hangs low in the sky on a rainy day
Photo by Loren Gu on Unsplash

Have you ever seen
the tears of the sun
or a defeated king?
Can you be what you once were
when the prerequisite is lost?
Can you make sense as snow
if you’ve lost the ability to frost?
Who am I
in this new existence?
How am I to feel
when nothing feels real?
Reality snatched from beneath my feet,
I plunge into the unknown;
where I am
is no longer the same.
Old roads beat in by peace,
are now symbols of pain.
Tears of the sun are not rain.
It is a phenomenon so strong
you must abandon what you thought you knew,
or live a conscious lie.
The fear of rebirth
as a motherless child.
The fear of the reality
of a world without you.
What is left unfinished
will always be missed.

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.

Rahja Rose is a poet incarcerated in Arizona. They are using a pseudonym.