Union Correctional Institution

the heat presses down like a drunk cop’s boot, metal fences shiver in the sticky Florida sun, concrete walls spit their old secrets at you, black mildew crawls across everything, like it's alive and goddamn winning. men with broken teeth laugh in corners, playing cards with cigarette ashes and dreams, the guards walk slow, like they own death, keys jangling like a bad symphony, boots scuffing, breaking the silence open. sweat pools in the cracks of your skin, rats wiser than the wardens, paint peels in long strips, like shedding snakes, you hear screams, sometimes, but mostly you hear the waiting. somewhere far off, a dog barks— but not for you, not for you.