sometimes
the most lasting hammers
swung against authoritarian walls
are built of words and willpower
scrawled in spilled/shed red ink
and forged within prison halls
while the desparate and deluded believe
they are somehow safe from their blows;
but when the hand puts down the pen
another comes in to pick it up again
and scratch away at the mortar
until the entire structure falls
and freedom once again enthralls