RELEASED
ALM 92, August 2026
POETRY
I was just released from a maximum-security prison.
My crime?
Loving too hard.
Loving too long.
Who knew love could earn a life sentence?
At eighteen, I signed my freedom away with promises I believed would last forever. I vowed to stand beside him through every storm. When he failed, I picked him up. I dressed his wounds, encouraged his dreams, and poured life into a man who slowly drained mine. Yet somehow, what I gave was always minimized, as if my sacrifices meant nothing.
When his pockets were empty, I made sure they never stayed that way. I was told I didn't have to, but love convinced me otherwise.
We brought children into this world, year after year. And with every baby—and every miscarriage—his treatment of me became colder, crueler, and more unbearable. Somehow, I was always cast as the villain, yet I stayed.
He was never the father our children deserved, but I kept hope alive for them. I whispered, "One day Daddy will come home," while he chose the comfort of his mother's house over the family he created.
I swallowed every slap.
Every punch.
Every cruel word.
Like candy disguised as poison, I consumed the pain and kept moving.
He cheated and expected forgiveness before the wounds had time to bleed. He spoke against me behind closed doors while I remained silent. He called me everything but my name, and I accepted it because speaking up only made the violence worse.
There is something life-changing about a man standing over you while you're struggling to breathe. In that moment, fear has a heartbeat, and survival becomes your only prayer.
Bleeding.
Bruised.
Broken.
With the help of the police, I escaped.
Then I made a choice.
I stood up for my children because I refused to let them believe love is supposed to hurt. I refused to let them grow into adults who thought abuse was normal, or that surviving was the same as living.
So I released myself from that horrific prison.
Not because someone rescued me.
Because I finally realized I had been holding the key all along.
And the moment I unlocked that door...
I stopped serving a life sentence for someone else's crimes.
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