Keys | 2015
*This poem was published in Whisper in 2015
most come
with an expiration date-
and are to be
given back at a certain
point in time after
they’ve outworn their
usage
which can serve a multitude
of different functions
all the way from safekeeping
the person,
his belongings
or both,
to becoming the gateway to
a corporate world
currently the only means
for owning yet another set
that purchase one’s
freedom to move,
and freedom to live
independently
of control,
anxiety
and stress.
Rattling the chain in my hand
I recollect how I once believed
I would keep some of them
forever
and as I would never take
something by force,
that’s not given to me willingly
I then slowly remove the keys to
a house I no longer own
and replace them with the keys to
an apartment a friend gave me
as I slowly but surely realize
family are the people
who give you keys to
a home