i am Rapunzel.
captured behind a stone wall
slick with acid, coated with barbed wire.
i beat and i pound at the wall, until the flesh
is torn and my bones crumble.
i scream and i cry, until my voice cracks
and my throat bleeds.
i pray and i persevere, but no matter
how much i try, the wall will not budge.

i am Rapunzel.
captured behind a stone wall,
slick with acid, coated with barbed wire.
i cut my hair and dripped it out the window
like garland, but no one climbs through.
i sing a broken hallelujah, like a songbird
with a wish bone in her throat.
i search hi and lo for the key to my tower,
but there is only stone and a locked door.

i am Rapunzel.
captured behind a stone wall
slick with acid, coated with barbed wire.
i hold the fragments of my hope in my
****** palms, i water them with my tears.
some day my prince will come, perhaps
with a silver key in one hand, and
the Promise Land in his eyes.