In prison
without being accused

or reach your family
or have a family                 You have

conscience
heart trouble

asthma
manic-depressive

(we lost the baby)
no meds

no one
no window

black water
nail-scratched walls

your pure face turned away
embarrassed

you
who the earth was for.

“In prison” is from Break the Glass by Jean Valentine and was originally published in The New Yorker. Copyright © 2010 by Jean Valentine. Reprinted by permission of Copper Canyon Press.