PEN

Brenda Saunders

I write letters of hope
to a stranger 
held captive 
in an unfamiliar land

My worries slip away
as I answer this call 
for freedom

imagine a chance reply
from a writer 
sending a message 
to the world
                                                 
                      ~

They have built a wall
around my head 
dimmed my ears                                                                            
to days of silence                                                             

A stone curtain
wraps the blackness 
the solitude 

inside

Shackled at the wrist 
my night cries
echo your calls 
for justice 

rights 

I will never yeild 

---

Note:
PEN: poets, playwrights, editors, essayists, and novelists) who write letters for the release of imprisoned writers held by foreign Governments or groups.

---

Brenda is a writer and artist of Wiradjuri and British descent from Sydney. Her fourth poetry collection ‘Inland Sea’ was published in 2021. Many of her poems have appeared in anthologies and journals both online and in print, including Australian Poetry Journal, Overland, Quantum, Southerly and Westerly. She is a mentor for Black Cockatoo, the Emerging Indigenous Poets site at Verity La.

Previous

Next