2nd Place Winner of the 2023 and 3rd Annual Poetry of the Outliers Contest! The Bars Divide Us All these years have gone by, beloved/ You are right there but still we can’t touch/ Their bars form a barrier between you and I/ I’ve tried to bend them and set you free/ My hands grown callous/ My strength/ It failed me/ Their bars separate us/ Two/ Long distances I’ve traveled cross bridge and border/ Just to gaze upon your face/ Through stained, fingerprint marked, plexiglass/ Their partitions keep us apart/ Their bars divide us/ Their work designed to break what we share/ You told me not to cry/ How could I not/ Seeing you chained, manacled/ A slave in fetters/ My heart sinks at the mere thought of this image/ Flesh of my flesh/ In twain we are cut/ Their bars a cold scalpel/ Severing flesh from bone/ Your letters oft our our only contact/ No calls, no video, no connection, except/ The memories of our innocent youth/ I was supposed to be your protector/ Mother taught me to be that/ Yet, now I feel almost too weak/ Too small to protect you still/ Their bars keep me away from the brutes and bullies you dread/ Hold on dear beloved/ Do not let them have your soul/ Our day will soon come/ No matter the wait/ I shall be here/ Like a grand oak/ Standing tall, anticipating your return to my shade/ Your release from their bars/ What once kept us disunited/ Was only effective in name/ Never have I forgotten you/ Not one minute/ Not one day/ When I look in the mirror/ It is your face that stares back/ Their bars cannot divide/ What lies deeply within/
