She endures
long hours alone
with childish babble
nightmares and tears
Isolation
but for his mother’s visits
and phone calls
Her bulging body
a constant reminder
of ever-increasing responsibilities
and of him
in closed cell by night
thinking of her
and dreaming music
he cannot play
doing without newspapers
in preference to being beaten
for the punting guide
and silently labouring by day
goaded by officers
with the power
to punish on a whim.
c. Kathryn Coughran
First published: 1994
In: Family Matters
(Kathryn Andersen)