“You have the right to remain silent.”
They whisper in my ears, binding my wrists with silver rings.
I’m forced into their vehicle my hands dropping blood on the seats
They drive off to the place with people like me
People with a sin that they can’t accept
No matter the justice behind it,
It’s wrong.
This sin of mine
put me to this unavoidable fate.
They put me in a dark room
Questioning me, taunting me
I’m clueless as to what they talk about
All I know is that
They believe me to be worse than I am.
They’re wrong; I’m just any normal human,
With faults and imperfections,
nothing special or interesting.

I’m put into a cell
Shared with a roommate
Who has a sin that’s just like mine; one that’s unaccepted
His hands are stained with blood, but I know that he won’t hurt me.
He has a gentle heart like mine-
the sin he made was worthy.
The man asks me for my name, but receives no answer.
I’m pursuing the right I was given, the right to remain silent.
No matter what they think of me,
I know I’m better than them.
I follow all the rules, listening to what they say
my only wish is to get out of this prison soon.
I have important business to do when I get out of here,
I have things to say, promises to fulfill;
I’ll be able to live my life in a new way,
Something society can accept.

Days pass by as I repeat this barbarous lifestyle.
But at noon of this new day
big and decisive men give me news
of possible freedom,
They say I’ll be able to leave
If my bloody hands’ deeds were saintly.
There’s a court hearing Friday morning at nine I’m told
I’m summoned to confess to another influential man who will be aiding me.
I have to let out the truth, which is nothing that is known;
I just pray to god and hope that I’ll be set free.

A day after,
I take a break from regular activities.
I meet up with the man who will set me free.
I’m interrogated, but not like the time before;
The man is kind, he doesn’t pressure me.
He makes me feel welcome and he accepts the answers I give him,
Supporting the case or not.
He just nods and continues to question
I tell him all I know,
About my deed and the truth behind it,
Nothing more.

He tells me I’ve done well, then packs up to leave
I’m not sure what he meant,
not entirely clear what I’ve just done.
Nevertheless, I go back to the cafeteria to enjoy some food
I sit at the corner table
At the back of the room,
Until my cellmate comes and joins me,
He tries to start a conversation
But I remain silent, as I’m still quite new to this place
And I want to stay neutral,
Leave with no communication.
I have the right to remain silent.

Each day until Friday would be another day of agony,
but I continue to do what I’m asked.
Silence is my identity- how I’m known in this purgatory.
It’s not causing any problems
so I’m satisfied with the calm.

It’s the day where I’m told I might be granted freedom.
I’m taken to the court near the prison
Taken to the front of the room, I sit beside my defender
Facing the judge above us.
Beside us are a couple of other suited men
Whom I can’t recognize.
This isn’t like any sort of TV show that I watch
Where the people beside me are the ones who are attacking me.
These people I do not know.
I have seen neither of them before,
I’m not sure what they have in relevance to this situation.
The judge hits his hammer,
Creating a loud echo around the room.
He then says,
“You are innocent, we have found the real criminal
And we will see that they receive proper consequences.”


This could not be happening,
What could have triggered such a change of mind?
They were so full of themselves before,
Just finding another man could not have changed these peoples’ minds.
Whatever had happened,
I wouldn’t let the chance slip, this place is a living hell.
I followed everything I was told to do,
No attitude or doubt
And soon enough I was out of prison.
I couldn’t comprehend what had happened right then,
But I knew that something hadn’t been right.
I did do what they accused me of doing,
Just not to the extent that they thought I did.
I didn’t bother to defy anything, I just accepted it
how it was.
Driving out of the jail, I saw policemen walking a prisoner towards the station.
The man with shaggy hair, I’ve known him all my life
I meet eyes with him, he gives me a smirk.
I knew why he was here,
The thought of it brings tears to my eyes.
Knowing this man and what he had done
Made me regret my hope to leave this prison.
However, I couldn’t waste this sacrifice,
I have to live on.
Through all the events that happened in my life,
This has been the most obscure.
I know I committed sins,
But someone chose to repent them,
They were cured and nullified.
I’m not a saint, mistakes are meant to be made.
Whatever happens throughout my life,
I will always remember that
I have the right to remain silent.