Grit

by Annie Bien

Today my cellmate mentioned that most of us inmates are in prison because of material needs, they’re poor and got caught robbing or stealing, got mixed up in drug busts, or in a fight, but why would I give up my freedom for freedom so that I’m not free? My voice got this tightness, realizing it must seem a luxury. He clapped my back. “Saw you on the news. You’ll be written down in history books for fighting to not lose our freedom so losing for a bit is worthwhile. You’re now a piece of grit in their eyes.”

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Annie Bien has written two poetry collections and published flash fiction in print and online. She is a flash fiction winner and finalist of the London Independent Story Prize, 2020, and a Pushcart Nominee. She is an English translator of Tibetan Buddhist Sūtras for 84000.