Bio
S.C. Flynn was born in a small town in Australia of Irish origin and now lives in Dublin. His poetry has been published in many magazines, and in March 2023 leading US magazine Rattle included him as one of seventeen contemporary Irish poets in a special edition. In May 2023 he was long-listed for the Erbacce Prize out of 13,000 entries.
S.C. Flynn
Slave
I was not born to this, but time has done its work.
On the first day all those years ago, I smashed
my head against the wall like the Spartan boy
choosing death over servitude.
But walls soften over time, and the life
I fought against has become
a barrier against the freedom
I could no longer stand.
My chains aren't metal but fear; to leave
would be easy, but to go with my shrunken
self now unthinkable. So I stay,
gripping the icy morning razor
only to shave the master, not to usurp him.
We are not born to be, but to become.