Release

Solid painted breeze-block walls
frame the smallest square of sky.
Turning inward from this darkness
inner darkness fills my eye.
Grating metal, creaking hinges,
crack of light that quickens fear,
swift remembrance, fleeting shadows
of the road that led me here.
No need now of towel and bucket.
This leave-taking is the last.
Hope and fear in equal measure,
wishing this dread day were past.
The door to freedom opens wide
- all alone I step inside.