<span class="vcard">Toby</span>
Toby

the year i became a number

the year 
i became a number
and a face
everyone recognized
but no one knew
not even me
who knew less
than nothing
of the woman
buried inside

a turning point
that year
that was
really more
than a year

the year i lived
on peanut butter,
mail call,
visiting day

the year i sank 
into the deep muck
of depression,
fears and fate

the year when
i felt i wasn't
entitled to smile
or dream

the year when
the darkness settled
and waters
became clear
and deep

the year i learned
that hope is blue
like a springtime sky
and prayer is purple
bold and royal
and everywhere

the year 
i was just
a number

the year 
i became
ME
who was
always hidden
inside.
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Kansan Lisa Montgomery will soon be executed. She ‘never had a chance’ — or a friend. Melinda Henneberger

After both the first and the second time I wrote about Lisa Montgomery, I heard from readers who said that in arguing against the upcoming execution of this severely mentally ill woman, who was routinely raped as a child and physically abused as a wife, I was somehow siding against her victim and their survivors.… Read the rest

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