Crossing Back

by J.S. O’Keefe / September 6th, 2026

At last,
out of the prison farm—
a gate?
a line in the earth?

The old life
falls behind him,
a field after harvest.

He carries no map.

Hard knowledge arrives:
leaving is never a single step.

J.S. O’Keefe’s short stories, essays and poems have been published in Everyday Fiction, WENSUM, Roi Faineant, 101 Words, Spillwords, AntipodeanSF, 50WS, Friday Flash Fiction, etc. Read other articles by J.S., or visit J.S.'s website.

This article was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.