If They Take My Life
By HF
If they take my life
It doesn’t mean that I die
For one to experience death
They must first be alive
Somewhere along our journey
In the midst of the days and nights
Someone has convinced us
That there is no difference between living and life
If I should cry a night
Does that make me weak?
And learn a depth of words
Does that make me deep?
If they take my life
Does it mean that I die?
Immortalized by my words
Through the spirit of their readers eye
If love lends wings
And I Believe I Can Fly
But you convinced me of impossibilities
Yet still I try
Where you see a butterfly
I see a cocoon
A caterpillar in the sky
A metamorphosis full bloom….
5 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
You write so beautifully. I was especially taken with “If They Take My Life” I work with high school students in D.C. and I have heard these feelings expressed so many times with words and through artwork. You expressed it with such clarity. When I read the lines about crying and weakness, it reminded me of a saying that I carry with me. It is “People don’t cry because they are weak…they cry because they have been strong too long.”
Thank you for having the courage to express your feelings…it helps others to do the same.
Susan
Wow! Your line, “Someone has convinced us that there is no difference between living and life” gave me something to think about.
I will pray for you, HF.
This is so true.
Reminds me that life isn’t just a beating heart but experienced, appreciated, and loved. And that since it’s possible for others or society to convince you that your life means nothing, we have to be mindful that we are someone because we are here. Thank you for sharing.
HF,
I have come across this poem as part of a college course aimed at community engagement.
Wow, just wow. The first stanza took my break away. I don’t think I’ve ever reader more true words. I love that you bring up the difference between life and living; its such a powerful concept. Just because you’re alive, doesn’t mean you’re really living! The line “And I Believe I Can Fly” is intriguing. I thinking you’re hinting at heaven? In the last stanza you state when others see butterflies and you see cocoons or a “caterpillar in the sky.” This is such powerful images, I think, drawing from the previous stanza about heaven, in that it exists for some people and others don’t believe it! This poem is so deep! Just amazing work! Thank you for letting the world read your words!