the cell

we are all hostages
chained to the wall
wearing the same clothing
every day for 564 endless
recitations of plastic rosary beads

threads slowly unravelling
our simple minds

a Black woman in South Africa
said sanity rested
on seeing two ants in her cell

her tranquility

one day

they were not there
and she carefully
dismantled her blanket
tying single strands
into warmth
for her isolation