Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, "Once you cross the Travis County line, it starts smelling different. And you know what that fragrance is? Freedom."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, "Once you cross the Travis County...

Earlier this week, Gov. Greg Abbott said to a group of rural Republicans, "Once you cross the Travis County line, it starts smelling different. And you know what that fragrance is? Freedom. It's the smell of freedom that does not exist in Austin, Texas."

There's a lot that Abbott doesn't like about Austin, but one of his main complaints is that it's a sanctuary city, which is the inspiration for this poem. He and I have different ideas of what freedom means.

I have lived with an anxiety disorder for decades. It comes and goes, it has changed some, but it will always be a defining part of my personality and the way I experience life. I know it when I see it, and a lot of people are experiencing anxiety this year in this political climate.

I ask you to put yourself in the shoes of immigrant families -- citizens or undocumented -- who are anxious right now in Texas. Think about the children who know something is wrong, but don't fully understand what it is. I feel for them. I wish Greg Abbott could do the same.

'The Smell of Freedom'

When I was small, I was afraid. A square peg wedged into darkness, nothing clicked: No hand fit my hand, no calm could reach my timorous skin. So I hit myself nightly, giving myself bruises, soothing buttons to press the next day.

Children are eaten away by mystery. Shadows that aren't quite monsters look like people, smile like people, but have a secret plan to crack them open, send their yolk away.

And you would have them running like stray dogs as you sniff the air, shoot the sky, claim another star for your hat. But that smell is not freedom. It is fear burning hot in pockets. It is the sweat-drenched uniforms of people trying just to pass. It is a fire that you set as you burn your name across the state.

Gov. Abbott: Austin stinks and so does 'Sanctuary Sally' Austin American-Statesman

Sara Cress (@saracress) is a writer in Houston. For her poems and to buy her books see her website, Breaking Poems.

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News poem: Greg Abbott can smell freedom - Houston Chronicle