drawing by Akil Jahi
You know those moments when sorrow floors you unexpectedly, tears fill your eyes and it's suddenly a bit difficult to breathe? I just had one when I read the last few lines of a letter that had made its way to me through the US postal service.
Well it's time for me to go to work it's 4:45 am here. I'm sending positive healing energy your way. Take care and have a wonderful day.
Why did this line stop my breath and leave me sobbing?
Akil Jahi - poet, healer, artist, cook, craftsman, senior mediator, son, brother, nephew, leader, friend and long-letter-writer - had written to me before dawn, alone in his cell on Unit Two of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
I have written about Akil, and his friend Abu, in several posts for Steem. Here they are in the order I would like you to read them should you care to. They are worth your time and are all fairly short reads.
https://steempeak.com/powerhousecreatives/@owasco/truth-faith-and-love
https://steempeak.com/freedom/@owasco/freedom
https://steempeak.com/freedom/@owasco/freedom-revisited
Back to today's letter. As usual, Akil had a lot to say, four meticulously hand written pages of it. He wrote of the honor he feels in his job as cook, nourishing his fellow inmates, and included a month's worth of menus. He spoke of an incident that disappointed him greatly, and how he managed to get "over feeling unappreciated and angry". The letter contained one single error that had been crossed out and corrected, a tiny "oops" above it. One.
His last flawless letter to me contained a poem of his, and in the more recent letter he provided an explanation:
What is it like to lose a loved one while you are in prison? Akil has been on death row for more than twenty years. His younger sister whom he loved dearly passed from sickle cell anemia while he was in. I wonder if there have been others.
He also sent me, in a separate envelope that cost him more in postage than he earns an hour, a handmade get well card with the words "Your friend who cares about your well being. All the best, Akil"
Akil's letters are full of wisdom, understanding and love.
Here are some snippets:
Hearing from you makes my heart glad.
There's nothing that compares to a mother's love for her child
I learned to cook by just watching my mother.
I believe in staying in touch with mother earth, we're definitely connected to her
It seems what we feel is most difficult in coping with, we find are our greatest strengths and gifts.
I love haiku's.
Working as a cook is my main job I get paid for 42 cents an hour, 5 days a week
It's been so long since I felt grass under my feet
All images are my own unless otherwise stated.
Akil has given me permission to write about him, saying:
Thank you for feeling my story and words are important. I am so honored by what you're doing. Please don't stop.