My hands are tied around my back. I didn’t do anything wrong. If you could please loosen the grip around my wrists then maybe we can shake hands again. I’m everything I want to be- please let me raise my palms to the sky to thank the heavens for that. Please help me cut this tree down because I don’t want to jump. It’s branches reach out – it’s twisted veins all tangled in a wicked mess to suffocate me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Those limbs are too strong to break so we will have to burn the whole thing to the ground. If I hold the match then I won’t stop striking so please help me commit this act of arson. I didn’t do anything wrong. Red are the flames that graze my skin- orange is the light that lets everyone know I won’t surrender- black is the sky that makes a backdrop for the unruly acts we don’t speak of- brown is the color of my eyes that hold such sadness. Such sadness. Such sadness. I still think the whole world is unforgiving- unfit for a gentle being like me. I didn’t do anything wrong and my voice is only shaking because I’m tired. It still matters because the words are truthful. I am laced in colors of the agonizing scene. Please know that the way my head hangs from my shoulders doesn’t mean a fucking thing. And if you want to believe me like a truce- like a secret- like an oath- like an apology- then do it calmly. If you could please loosen the grip around my wrist then maybe we can shake hands again. My hands are tied around my back. -AMT