Erased

I sit here,

In a small,

Dismal room.

The walls are gray,

The ceiling is gray,

The floor is gray.

I am alone.

Too many years ago,

The police knocked on my door

And arrested me.

They charged me with theft.

I stole my neighbor's apples off his apple tree.

I long to go home,

I’ve wanted to go home since I got here,

But I fear I will not be welcome,

I would be a stranger.

I eat my food every day,

I sleep in my bed every night,

I breathe,

But I do not sing,

I stand,

But I do not dance.

I doubt my name

Is ever spoken at my family’s

Dinner table.

I doubt my name

Is even remembered by my family.

My only friends

Are the walls that surround me,

The ceiling above me,

And the floor beneath me.

I live,

But am I alive?