Sunshine
In my cell each afternoon
I miss it on cloudy days
A new cell – a new block
Last cell was morning sun for a year
Second tier
Laying in the quiet of morning, I’d scquint my eyes
At the sun on the back wall of the cell
And think of the phrase “Cross Bar Hotel”
I wish I had seen more Frank Lloyd Wright windows.
It’s mid may, come july it’ll be 110 degrees Fahrenheit
in this second tier cell
and I’ll have the evening sun going down
I’ll stand naked and watch my shadow
As it washes the thick sweat off of me
Framed by the Frank Lloyd Wright window
In the Cross Bar Hotel
Southern Illinois is only two states
Away from Texas.
It was never important
To know that before.
Tom Manning – Spring 1994