In Prison

In prison
without being accused

or reach your family
or have a family You have

conscience
heart trouble

asthma
manic-depressive

(we lost the baby)
no meds

no one
no window

black water
nail-scratched walls

your pure face turned away
embarrassed

you
who the earth was for.

first published in The New Yorker 2007, © Jean Valentine 2007, used by permission of the author. Poetry Foundation recording made on 10 July 2007, New York

Jean Valentine

Jean Valentine was born in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois and has lived most of her life in New York City. In 1964, her first collection ...

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