“My words have escaped”

I whisper to the empty box they bursted opened



At first

I feared they would choke

to their first taste of air

But they didn’t



I closed my eyes

and sighed in relief

Then I stayed silent

Just so I could hear them echo

Just so I could hold them in my arms

Just so I could hear them breathe



They couldn’t stand

the chains they have been tide to

They couldn’t stand

to watch me suffer

for leaving them unsaid



They are free now

Now they sing to lonely stars

They yell at injustice till it breaks

They hold the lost and the lonely

They help other words escape

[Luísa Tibana, Coimbra, Spring 2021]