I was given a shovel

and no instructions

so, I broke into the earth

started to dig

dig,and dig, and dig

sweat

tears

dripping into the earth

"I deserve this"

"this is all I'll ever get"

"this is the best it will ever be"

soon, dirt was all I could see

brown gravel in every space

my arms

no longer moving

for the first time

in a lifetime

I stopped

my head, turned sky-bound

the blue, piercing blue

said to my heart

"you don't have to live this way"

"not anymore"

and now, I shovel

shovel to escape

to escape an undeserved prison

to fight

and to find myself

in that beautiful blue sky