To My Peeps
By JK
I want to let you know
how you made me feel tonight
Tryna convey my emotions to words
will not suffice
A simple ‘thank you’ seems mediocre
Because you deserve so much more
Your encouraging words and motivation
made my heart fall to the floor
I love you all more than I can say
your heartfelt shout outs have made my day
I’ll do my best to continue to encourage
your wonderful support makes my words want to flourish
And to my FREE MINDS CREW…
None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you!
I appreciate the opportunity to free my mind
It’s giving me peace from all the wars inside
I look forward to the day that we’ll all be together
Writing with purpose to make this world better!
Be blessed. You are greatly appreciated
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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.
You can feel the love radiating from this poem – not just through the words, but even the meter and rhyme carry through a deep feeling of joy, purpose, and the power of connection. I felt this in my bones!
Hi JK,
I love your poem. I also love that this program has impacted you so deeply. I love that it gives you a sense of peace. Your poems are beautifully written and give me joy to read as well. Please continue writing!
Best,
Allison
What an inspiring poem on gratitude! I love how you speak directly to whom you are grateful for. Perhaps in the last line, “Be blessed. You are greatly appreciated”, I would suggest to use the first tense, as it is more personal to say “I greatly appreciate…” than “You are greatly appreciated”. Having the word “I” shows vulnerability, which makes your poetic voice sound more genuine – much like the phrase “I love you” sounds more genuine than “love you”.
Congratulations on an amazing poem, keep up the good work!
I really like this poem! This is the first poem I have read since learning about free minds. I agree that they are awesome for creating this site because it is so important to be able to express yourself. I love the way that poems can express how someone feels like you did here. I especially like the line where you said that the support makes you want to flourish and that it’s giving you peace for all of the wars inside. Those lines really spoke to me and I love the vibe that you left within this poem. I try to practice gratitude in my journal every day and I find that it really makes a difference with my mindset so I really like your mindset here as well.
Hi JK! I loved this, you took something that you could have easily made into a bad situation and made light of it in such a good way! I smiled while reading this because I feel like a lot of submissions on here can be heavy, so this was a great change of speed! Keep doing what you are doing, we appreciate you!
It’s hard to tell people what they mean to you, especially when there’s an expectation of eloquence. You want to write whole soliloquies about the gratitude and fondness you have for someone, but the words don’t come in a way that makes sense. I think this piece really conveys that feeling while also conveying the gratitude you want to show. I love your rhyme scheme (something I always struggle with) and the sense of community and purpose you obviously feel towards your group.
Hi JK,
I really enjoyed reading your poem. The way you express your feelings and the words you chose are amazing. I am new to “free minds,” but after reading this I see how important it is. Giving you a place to express your feelings and thoughts clearly helps you and others, which is so important. I am so happy that this helps keep peace in your mind. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and gratitude, and I hope to read more from you.
I love this poem. This poem helps display how powerful poetry can be for healing. No matter what’s happening poetry can be an escape for people. You said it beautifully “It’s giving me peace from all the wars inside.” To say we are thankful for your poetry is an understatement. You write true raw emotions and your experiences for people to read, it’s absolutely beautiful. Keep writing its admirable work you are doing. We are blessed to read your work!
JK, this is one really powerful poem. I too often find myself unable to express my gratitude to others through just the use of words. It can feel like “Thank you” is bland and boring when others deserve the world, but know your kindness and appreciation is reflected right back. While we may live in two totally separate worlds, I can relate to the usage of this program as an escape from the conflicts of the world around us. I love reading these masterpieces that you and other provide. Keep up the great work! Your poem has a natural flow to it, and your word choice is impactful.
Wishing you all the best 🙂
This poem truly made me smile. I can feel the appreciation and love the author has for those who have given him feed back through his words. The way he describes Free Minds and how it allows him to open up and help him work through what’s going on inside his mind and in his heart is so touching and I am honored to be apart of it. The flow of the piece was beautifully crafted, and it was so well written.
Hi JK! I enjoyed reading your poem. Your emotions really pour out of the screen. You reminded me how important it is to have a support system. I am glad to hear that you feel the support because we need to be there for one another. Please keep writing this amazing work!
I can really feel the passion in this poem, almost like it’s speaking directly to me. Well done! Please keep on writing and sharing your thoughts with the world 🙂
Hey JK,
I enjoyed reading your poem, and I’m happy we both get to have this opportunity as well!
For me, your words.. I felt that. I go to meetings and have breakdowns or feel vulnerable sometimes. It’s really such an amazing feeling when you have friends who lift you up and give you “heartfelt shout outs”. those can really save a life and make your day. Just like your shoutouts to the Free Minds crew, it made me smile so thanks for that. Also, thank you for being vulnerable, it’s a good thing!
Sincerely,
CD
I really liked this poem, as I really emphasized the difficulty to express gratitude to a group of people who one is very indebted to. At the same time, the author was successful in presenting his gratitude to the reader, and their authentic expressions of what they got from the time that they have spent with the free minds group (“giving me peace from all the wars inside”), really show how much they appreciate the group.
This is a very cute piece of writing. You clearly care so much about the people you’re writing about, and I admire that. I have friends that I have felt this way about, and it feels great. I love that I can relate to your poem and I love how peaceful it is.
Even if you cannot tell your thoughts in words, you can convey strong emotions. With that, I thank you for your kind words. Wishing you the best in the future!
I think this is a beautiful poem that’s dedicated to the people you truly love. A lot of the times thank you just doesn’t seem enough, but instead you need to show them how much you thank them. I relate to this because my friends now have done so much for me and I want to show them how much I appreciate them, but I’ve come to realize that thanking them is improving yourself and helping them out when their at their low points. Beautiful people come into your life only once in a while, but when they do walk into your life, you can never let them go. You have to show these people how they mean to you, an action is worth a thousand words and I think this poem really shows the meaning behind that. This is a beautiful poem thank you for sharing!
This is a really positive and up-going poem. It reflects what a true friend can do to help you out through tough times. They are your shields and sword. They can take care of you while making sure you are not making the same mistake. They help you to become a better person. It is wonderful that friends could be around us.
I love this poem. I struggle with telling others my appreciation. I tend to show it and hope that is enough but this inspired me to tell them despite. The love you show for others is immense. I cannot describe the impact these words had on me. Continue writing.
The words radiating true joy and thankfulness. I can tell this is one of JK’s favorite ways to express themselves. I am happy to have stumbled upon this Poem and the rhythms are silky smooth. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say next!
This poem was super wholesome. The way you expressed your genuine gratitude for those supporting your poems was precious. I love reading all these fantastic, creative, and unique poems. I love sitting back on a Sunday night, relaxing, and scrolling through all the poems, and it’s like a form of therapy. I’m glad you feel and appreciate the support everyone here is giving you. I am so happy the program can impact you, and you shared that in your beautifully written poem. I always believe the energy you put out is the energy you get back. You are putting out great energy. Not only do I encourage you to keep writing amazing poems, but to remain positive despite anything.
Hi JK! This poem is great! You can really tell the sense of peace writing poems makes you feel. It is great that you are able to have an outlet for yourself to express your emotions. I am so glad that this outlet brings you joy and freedom!
JK,
You are such a blessing to your readers! You make an even greater impact than you know. Keep writing!
I really like that you are celebrating and appreciating Free Minds Poetry. Your poems are great and it is people like you that keep this going. This is super positive and keeps the people like me who are reading this, happy to respond and leave comments. Great work!
I love how beautifully positive and wholesome this poem is. It’s so wonderful to read and I love the message you’re sending and spreading. Keep up with it!
This poem is so heartwarming. I think something we have all felt at some point is an inability to express our gratitude when we just have so much of it. I also love how you acknowledge how poetry is an outlet not only for your gratitude like in this poem, but also an outlet to release your feelings and comfort yourself, like when you say “I appreciate the opportunity to free my mind It’s giving me peace from all the wars inside”
Your poems are beautifully written and I loved how you have found such gratitude and benefits from this program. It is evident that you are well-spoken and I am so glad you have found an outlet of creativity that you excel in.
This poem is truly inspiring. It makes me feel appreciated and just glad in general. Each and every word holds a different type of purpose and I felt like I could feel that through the screen while just reading it.