Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Aluminum Musings

I wake up to metal. Aluminum trays crashing against aluminum tables downstairs. The cops have to be doing that on purpose, don't they? Crash, Crash, Crash! I'm up. Shirtless, I stumble to my sink. More aluminum. I splash cold water on my face and take a sloppy sip from the faucet... tastes metallic, but it's soothing as it hydrates tubes that nearly dried up during sleep.

My muscles ache. Steel toe boots upstairs and soon a key pulls open my tray port and I'm served breakfast. I choose not to say thank you this morning. I eat the breakfast, wait for the sound of boots, return my tray and tuck myself in for a few hours more of vacation.

The few hours more pass in what feels like ten minutes. I want to stay and sleep, but the symphony of crashing has started again and I know within seconds lunch will be served. I say thank you this time and the guard's stupid looks and silence remind me why I usually don't.

I wrap my bread in toilet paper to save along with peanut butter and jelly packets. I eat the cookies, chips, macaroni and fruit. Not bad. I lay back down and wait for my steel-toed butlers to come for their precious tray. The queue has sounded and the quiet is a thing of a few minutes ago. I hear Muslims praising Allah, Mexicans giving each other morning salutations in Spanish and combs sliding across the floors like mice to pick up packages of coffee, envelopes or notes.

I walk to my door and look out the window at the tier. Behold, my town, my community of voices. I hear my name. "Yea!" I yell. It's the Sicilian, my neighbor two cells down. "Get your line ready. I got somethin' for you!" he shouts. The rooster has crowed. "Alright," I say and pull the spool of string out of my sock. "Give me a minute."

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sway, just wanted to say I've been following your blog and admiring your way with words and story-telling. This post made me hear the crashing of aluminium and those words in Arabic and Spanish. I wrote a post on my blog today about your descriptions here. I think you have a lot to say and the ability to say it well.

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  2. Hi Sway, I've found your site through Anchors and Masts/Tess' site. Your words in this post make me feel the place in which you reside. It feels cold to me as in temperature.....or does it get hot on hot days. I don't know, are prisons equipped with ac?

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