As the steel gate slammed behind me
I winced again at the harsh sound
even though the sentence
to my ten by ten cell
allowed me brief moments
of exercise around the yard
each and every day
since my birth.

But I was not deterred
because I knew I would find
my freedom
one day.

For too many days
in the blistering heat
with little water or food
I paced the enclosure. I would push
my nose against barbed wire
until I bleed.
Once I realized
the soil was softer
I tunneled through
and cuddled next to your side
only to be slapped and scolded,
reprimanded and condemned
to the hell house
re-enforced with boards,
bricks and double locks.

But I was not deterred
because I knew
I would find my freedom
one day.

One night,
when snow and ice made my bed
you felt pity for me,
perhaps remorse,
and opened the jail
to feed me an extra morsel
but that was a mistake
and you, instead,
became a feast
for my famine.

When I finished,
I dragged what was left of you
inside the prison,
kicked the portal shut
and ran across the field,
though not before stopping,
turning back,
to notice your wretched, crumpled corpse
bleeding across the wet, white blanket of hay.

Instead of howling at the moon
in glee I cried
but I knew not why.

Perhaps
you did not
turn me into
the animal
you bred me to be?

Running into the thick woods,
I could only envision
that awful cage
you made me
call home
far too many years
but I still said a silent prayer
thanking you
for helping me find
my . . . humanity
and my freedom
that day.