Poem: I Used to Work at the Jail
I Used to Work at the Jail
by a Community Supervision Officer
When you say I want to see you locked up,
what I want to say is that I used to work there
and I would never want to see you go back there.
When you say I want to see you locked up,
what I want to say is that your family deserves for you to be in the community,
but I can’t make those decisions for you.
When you say I want to see you locked up,
what I want to say is that your past does not have to dictate your future,
but you have to learn the lesson for yourself.
When you say I want to see you locked up,
what I want to say is that I used to work at the jail
and that experience is why I’m your Community Supervision Officer today,
to see the change beyond the jail.
12 Comments
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The poets featured here 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. Messages 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.
this is a good poem talking about how you use to work at the jail
Hey!! am Jenny when i read your poem its like i could feel you,but i hope you doing alright and i see you open your mind more and share with us.
Hey!! am Jenny Maheda when i read your poem its like i could feel you,but i hope you doing alright and i see you open your mind more and share with us. You should do more poems so you can express your feelings to us and us writing more comment to you.
Hey!! am Jenny when i read your poem its like i could feel you,but i hope you doing alright and i see you open your mind more and share with us. You should do more poems so you can express yourself to us more.
Well im sorry for your experience in the prison and im taking your poem and connecting it into my life because i dont never want to go to jail.
When people make bad decisions , its never to late to change them. When you go to jail known for something, you can come out as an whole new person. Hope you are living a better life than before.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! We are all searching for some variation of personal growth. I admire your determination to help those you work with grow rather than looking down upon them. Keep inspiring others to do the same!
KC
Hi, I’m Edmon and I’m in a class that aims to engage with the community beyond the university and corporations. Wow this poem looked darker on the surface but was very very caring because you don’t want to see that person go to jail because you’ve worked there and seen what goes on. I really liked the structure of the poem as well. Almost like small paragraphs. Good job and good luck in the future.
Wow what a powerful poem! I could feel the strong emotions you have and how much you care about those you work with. Great job!
Dear Poet,
This was an amazing poem that you wrote and I like the two way conversation that I feel like is happening in the poem. I like what you have a different response to those that say I hope you go to jail. I get the sense that you see the good in the world and strive for it. Please keep up the writing, I look forward to reading more of your poems.
Hi there!
I really liked reading this poem because of the different perspective it gave. As a college student with family members who have worked in law enforcement, and for fire departments, I’ve been lucky enough to see that those who work in these types of environments can be good, and that the job is not always what everyone believes it is. I think that with everything that has been going on recently, it’s really great to read about someone who has worked within the system and always rooted for the success of those who may have ended up behind bars because of the mistakes and choices that they made. I think that allowing someone to realize that they control only themselves and the choices they make, truly allows them to become independent and it’s great that you were a person who allowed those you encountered to take accountability and grow while also providing true and genuine support.
To the sweet poet, repetition is a strong tool so that the main focus is pushed forward so that it can be expressed thoroughly and understood by the writer. You made a great use of it, I want you to keep writing.