Coming out; being known for who we really are.
I came out from captivity.
It was a hard step to take, having traveled so far.
Accepting my new nativity.
Redeemed like an old coupon, forgotten in a drawer.
Saved for that rainy day, then remembered once more.
Torn corners, stained by tears. Tattered after six- and one-half years.
Traded in a jihadi six for one sale. Why not? Everything else had failed.
I was released on a desert parking lot. Tiny worn rocks like little black dots.
They stretched from Nowhere to Forever, I crossed them, breaking captivity’s tether.
They crunched beneath my feet, as I limped forward, my new life to meet.
I saw the men and I began to dance! I saw their patches! I cried “Vive la France!”
“Strip! Take off your clothes!” The men called across the waste in a shout.
Naked I went into captivity, naked I came out.
I went in as a man and came out as a beast.
I’d thought I was great, now I knew I was least.
In freedom I must become human
Again.