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Tour of a Decommissioned Prison: Reflections

A spine-chilling account of a decommissioned prison, by Shernaz, exposes the barbarity of man against his fellow beings. An exclusive for Different Truths.

cramped cubicles...  
minuscule 4’x7’ cells with little sunlight,
no sky to soothe, no electricity,
food unfit for animals,
the stench of urine and faeces!

To that add cockroaches, scorpions,
snakes and other creepy-crawlies
sharing the baleful, constricted space
during the monsoons! Spine-chilling!

solitary confinement cells – a dismal unit
where convicts spent the last days of life  
all numbing, blood-curdling sights!
Uncanny, unnervingly palpable!

frighteningly sobering
was the clutch of erstwhile history  
of crime and punishment...
an ominous deterrent to wrongdoings
that warrant confinement

The guide spun wry humour
into the wretched records
he hoped to entertain us with...
I couldn’t force-weave levity  
into such miserable tapestry 

the gamut of human emotions and atrocities
I felt would pummel my ears  
and miserable ghosts of a sinister past 
would suddenly loom before me
their sibilant whispers pleading redemption,
their flaming agony seeking
to reverse unmerited sentences, 

grisly narratives threatened
to tumble out of the cells and walls;
deafening screams, murderous shouts,
deadly brawls, brutal commands,
smutty language and forlorn sobs  
seemed to ricochet in the emptiness. 

The final show piece — the gallows —
a gruesome relic of final twinge and terror
From it hung the fear and shrieks, the repentance
perhaps the unjust ending of a life that  
pleaded on inclement ears for mercy and fairness

I wonder — how justifiable is this form of killing? 

Visual by Different Truths

author avatar
Shernaz Wadia
To Shernaz Wadia, reading and writing poems has been one of the means to embark on an inward journey. She hopes her words will bring peace, hope and light into dark corners. Her poems have been published in many e-journals and anthologies. She has published her own book of poems "Whispers of the Soul" and another titled "Tapestry Poetry - A Fusion of Two Minds" with her poetry partner Avril Meallem.

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