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  • GET INVOLVED
    • Join Our Email List
    • Bring Free Minds to Your Group
    • On the Same Page: Write Night
    • Intern or Volunteer With Us
    • Give Poetry Feedback
    • Work With Us
  • DONATE
    • Donate Online
    • Other Ways to Donate
    • Employer Matching Gifts
    • Donate Books
    • New! Merch Store
  • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Who We Are
    • In The Press
    • Supporters
    • National Projects
    • Resources For Educators
    • Resources For Incarcerated People
    • New! Merch Store
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Book Clubs and Writing Workshops
    • Reentry Services
    • On the Same Page
    • Books by Free Minds
    • Connect Magazine
    • Congressman John Lewis Fellowship
    • Thrive Under 25
    • Success Stories
  • News & Events
  • Poems
  • Contact Us

Poem: “To My Family and Friends”

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Poem: “To My Family and Friends”

By Free Minds Book Club | May 20, 2011 | 10

To My family and Friends A deep disappointment I know I have been I have failed them once again My family and friends do right, while righteous is all they…

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Poem: “To My Friend”

By Free Minds Book Club | May 20, 2011 | 4

Hey Hey Hey Hey How are you doing? You know that I am doing okay You know just being me and chilling And trying to do better And you are…

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Poem: “College”

By Free Minds Book Club | May 10, 2011 | 9

College Most young poets talk about the ghetto But I’ll talk about college That’s where I wanna be To obtain some knowledge I wanna be out from behind bars In…

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Poem: “Moving Ahead With Excellence”

By Free Minds Book Club | May 10, 2011 | 2

Moving Ahead With Excellence Coming from a messed up background where Boys want to let off shouts and lay strips down Selling cocaine that is breaking my brothers and sisters…

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Poem: “A Snapshot of Me”

By Free Minds Book Club | May 10, 2011 | 7

A Snapshot of Me I was in the fifth grade at my graduation Inside my school lunch room I had a big smile on my face Because this was the…

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About the Poetry Blog

The poets featured on this page are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem, and it will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.

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On the Same Page: Write Night

January 27, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30 PM

Read and respond to poetry by incarcerated writers! Registration is required; click here to RSVP.

Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

Free Minds uses books, creative writing, and peer support to awaken incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults to their own potential. Through creative expression, job readiness training, and violence prevention outreach, these poets achieve their education and career goals, and become powerful voices for change in the community.

Winner of the 2015 Aspen Ideas Award from the Aspen Institute, the Justice Potter Stewart Award from the Council for Court Excellence, and the Library of Congress Best Practices in Literacy Award.

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