Visiting Day goes by last name
in alphabetical order
and happens every other week
S for Shahid
so Clyde and Umi come at the end
of the month
And for a whole week
I counted down
There’s enough time here
to keep track of the seconds
There’s another big room
outside all the locked doors
It’s where the world waits
to meet us for an hour
As soon as I see her
I know Umi is trying so hard
to keep it together
Her eyes are like thick glass
holding in a tsunami of tears
She doesn’t cry
She gets up from her seat
and hugs me
I let her hold me
but I don’t close my eyes
because maybe I will melt in her arms
and she’ll have to carry me home
in her cupped hands
Clyde’s voice is like chains
from the other side of the round table
reminding me of where I am
and how I got here
We can appeal but it will take
a long time, Amal
Clyde says
Jeremy Mathis is stable
but he’s still under
andI wish I had more news
Amal
Amal, I’m gonna do everything I can
to get you out of here
Everything in my power
Inshallah
Umi says from the other side
of the round table
The tables in the visiting room
are some of the few round things
in here
so many squares
so many corners
so many boxes
It’s like when white folks
say things like
trying to fit a square peg
into a round hole
this is what they mean
But I’m no square peg
More like a round world
to myself
being forced into
so many boxes