Chains tug at my wrists
Rocks dig into my bare feet
I walk blindly
My hands balled into fists

My dress hangs limply
My body too starved to hold form
Rays of sunlight stab at my back
The sweat forming there glistens

A man
Lizard-like
Carries my chains in one hand

Trip, stumble, fall

The red-brown dust puffs into a cloud around me
Specks of dirt settle in my hair
I keep my eyes shut
I lie there
Enveloped in the earth
My beaten, broken body swallowed whole
Yet the dust clears and my bonds are gone

My stomach doesn't ache
My throbbing headache vanished
I can see again

A man far ahead
Looks back
Entranced by the sight
Of freedom