Society, You Made Me
By AH
I’m trying to hold onto the future
Friends I have left
Because I realize ain’t no fame in being in prison
And ain’t no glory in death
The pain that runs through my soul
Has crept to my eyes
I’m hurt by the lies
Blinded by crud
If you look at my hands you will see
Nothing but blood
I’m a product of hate
A man with no faith
One that will kill to remain safe
Too torn by my past
To make love last
Went to sleep in peace
Woke up to the sound of a gun blast
And this may sound crazy
But I wanted to be a dope man since I was a baby
In love with women, money, and cars
My heroes were the men doing life behind bars
And I was taught to love with my mind
Because loving with your heart will get you killed every time
So who can I run to when I need love?
As I watch my mother fill her arms up with mud
Life as I know it is built off drugs
But the judge don’t want to know that
All he wants to do is give you 100 years flat
If only people would take a second to see
A thug is what I was forced to be
SOCIETY, YOU MADE ME!
R.I.P. Boy-Boy
4 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.
Thank you so much for sharing a piece of your story and a piece of yourself. I can tell from your poem that there is so much more to you than your parents, your childhood and the choices that you made. I look forward to reading more of your writing.
Well, this is a depressing poem. But persuasive, too, in a way. Especially lines like “But I wanted to be a dope man since I was a baby” and this couplet: “In love with women, money, and cars / My heroes were the men doing life behind bars.” You vividly show how limited your choices were so that I understand your accusation at the end, “SOCIETY, YOU MADE ME!” Yet I have the feeling from the way you wrote that you’re aware enough now to know that the making process isn’t over, and that what society made you can unmake.
I appreciate how unapologetically dark and powerful this poem is. It’s bursting at the seams with raw emotion– rage and despair. I actually prefer the ABAB rhyme scheme that you hint at in the first stanza, more than the AABB rhyming in the rest of the poem. But nothing can retract from the message here. What I would like to tell you is that, yes, society may have made you, but you’re strong enough to defy society’s expectations and change. Do you really want your identity to be determined by someone else? To be another statistic? This poem shows that you are better than that, and it’s your decision whether you choose to pursue a different path.
Thank you for your insight into what life is like for you and how you became who you are. It’s important for us to understand where others are coming from and your poem helps us on the outside think about society and how we’re all products of it.