The Prison Cell That Had No Prisoner

The Prison Cell That Had No Prisoner

There was a cell in an old prison,
Where no one dared to go,
It had been empty fifty years,
Or so the records showed,
The door was made of heavy steel,
The walls were damp and grey,
And every guard who worked there,
Would hurry past each day.

They said a man had died there,
But nobody knew his name,
His records had been taken,
And his photograph the same,
The only thing remaining,
Was a number on the door,
And scratches on the concrete,
Where he’d counted days before.

Each night at twelve precisely,
A crying sound was heard,
But when the guards went looking,
There wasn’t a single word,
Just silence in the corridor,
And footsteps on the floor,
And someone softly breathing,
Behind that bolted door.

A young guard called Daniel,
Had only worked there weeks,
He didn’t fear the stories,
Or the strange and dreadful shrieks,
He said I’ll solve this mystery,
Before the morning light,
And find out who keeps crying,
In that empty cell at night.

He took the keys at midnight,
And walked along the hall,
The crying grew much louder,
As he passed the prison wall,
He stood outside the cell door,
And whispered who’s in there,
But all he heard was breathing,
And movement in the air.

He turned the heavy iron key,
And pushed the door aside,
The room was cold and empty,
With nowhere left to hide,
A broken bed stood in the corner,
A blanket on the floor,
And something scratched upon the wall,
That hadn’t been there before.

He lifted up his lantern,
And read the writing there,
A name had been carved deeply,
Beneath a little prayer,
He moved a little closer,
And nearly dropped the light,
For underneath his very name,
Was tomorrow’s date at night.

He stumbled from the prison cell,
And ran towards the gate,
He shouted for the other guards,
But nobody was awake,
The clocks had all stopped ticking,
The lights began to fade,
And down the empty corridor,
A shadow slowly swayed.

He heard the sound of footsteps,
Approaching from behind,
And suddenly a thousand thoughts,
Went racing through his mind,
He turned and saw a prisoner,
With chains around his feet,
Who looked exactly like himself,
From his head down to his feet.

The prisoner stood before him,
And whispered don’t you see,
I’ve waited fifty lonely years,
For you to come to me,
You think that you’re the living one,
And I am just the dead,
But look upon the prison wall,
And read what someone said.

Daniel turned towards the cell,
And saw another name,
The date was fifty years ago,
But everything else the same,
He saw his own reflection,
In a mirror cracked with age,
But he was dressed in prison clothes,
And standing in a cage.

The young guard started screaming,
And tried to run away,
But every door was bolted,
And there was nowhere left to stray,
The prisoner smiled so sadly,
And held his hand out wide,
You’ve been dreaming you’re a prison guard,
Since the night that you died.

The following morning came around,
The prison guards arrived,
They found the empty cell unlocked,
But no one was inside,
Just two names scratched upon the wall,
With dates beneath them both,
And on the dusty prison bed,
Lay an old forgotten coat.

And now each night at midnight,
Two voices can be heard,
One crying for his freedom,
The other without a word,
For some men serve their sentences,
Long after life has gone,
And some believe they’re living,
When they’ve been dead all along.