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. These 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.
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Peaceful Protest
By AL
“The home of the brave,
and the land of the free”
are notably beautiful
words written by Francis
Scott Key.
Yet. in 1814 those words
didn’t apply to individuals
with the same skin color as
me.
So for all the injustice then
and now that I see,
I proudly place my fist in
the air while taking a
knee.
I stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.
Love’s Reply
By MS aka NexXLife
Dear NexXLife,
I thought I gave you to someone who
would love you
I’m not all knowing
so I never knew
that your mother’s love
if that’s
what it was
would tarnish your innocence and corrupt you
reshape your world view
break your spirit and harden your heart
she battered your form and imprisoned your mind
that’s not what love is
not what love does
now because of this
all of those years of silent tears
huddled within yourself like a refugee
your fear was your impenetrable guard
so it was hard for anyone to get close to love you
protecting yourself you pushed people away
ashamed of your past
you were too scared to let someone love you
I hear you
I am never far from you
all you have to do is lower your guard
take a chance on me
light a beacon
and love (I) will surely find you
Yours truly,
Sincerely,
Love
Sermon of the Slave
By KC
I refuse to be grounded
By the clock pounded
Instead I will fly as one with time
To be a legend and never die
I am self, the undeniable truth
Even though the masses deny my worth—
by denying my freedoms
I am self-bonded by Blood, Iron and Pain
Transported over seas and through time
A lifetime of hate created by ignorance from others—
and self-destruction within
But still I fight—still I rise
And one day I will be free
B-2930…269-265
By CL
Time is often the destroyer of a young man’s dreams.
Hope is frequently the only nourishment for an emaciated soul.
How did you endure an era so blatantly inhumane,
Where a child’s only crime is being born a Jew?
I think back to my own hardship as a “Lifer” in prison.
When dark thoughts ravenously clawed at my will.
Threatening to drag me into the depths of hopeless abandon,
As the elusive hope of freedom took on a mystical quality.
A Lucky Child spoke to me in ways never before.
Tears of mine followed your march on frostbitten feet.
Injecting into my spirit an Odd Nansen state of being,
I pray for the moral strength not to compromise my dignity.
You have shown that when a person is subjected to terrible suffering,
That experience should teach us how to empathize with all people in need.
With Mutti’s unrelenting hope and love, Mundek’s courageous sacrifice …
You reclaimed your name from the number you were given.
Dedicated to:
Mr. Thomas Buergenthal
Survivor of Auschwitz death camp,
And author of A Lucky Child
Down
By AME
I wrote one poem but you dissolved it,
So I wrote a new one in the hopes to solve it,
Right now I’m angry and am in need of help – are you there?
I’m tired of being lied to – honestly do you really care?
I got my hopes up but now you just laugh – can you tell me why?
I hate to believe that you’re praying upon my downfall – is that why you cry?
All your tears I hate as well – when you look at me, honestly, can’t you tell?
Now it’s clear to see in my pain that you’re a hazard of – why I fail.
With that being expressed, I’ll close for now……
Just maybe – you will learn the meaning of truly – being DOWN!
Instead of living your life as a silly clown.
You always want to be seen – but I promise, “All is not what it seems.”
When you find yourself and become ready for a good man,
I vow to your will that I can – always be DOWN!
I Really Don’t Know
By D’Nell
I come from a long line of soldiers
We are as tough as a rope
I grew up in Stanton Oaks
They call me D’Nell
Because I’m real like steel
When I come around
It’s like I never left
My voice sounds like smooth jazz
It’s as mellow as a Sunday
My eyes are as brown as dirt
Right now my life is like hell
My future is as real as it can get
Emancipating Thoughts
By AL
I’ve meditated on a cloud,
the scent of Summer Rain.
I’ve astro-planed to a time
when pharaohs reign.
And people sang
on the Nile waters.
A place where Woman
was praised in High Orders.
And the gods were
the topic of the day.
A place where esoteric
knowledge was on display.
And man thought in depths
of the Milky Way.
I’ve watched winters
melt into springs.
And springs blossom
into summers.
I’ve witnessed the Nirvana
of life.
In every stage of its wonders.
Mastering the Pain
By JG
Feeling everything so deeply
Can be a gift and a curse
My happiness is true bliss
Everything just works
Suddenly, joy is replaced with pain
Clear skies fill up with rain
I try to hold on
But can’t seem to maintain
My skies darken
Turmoil sets in
Damn
Never knew the mind could be like a wilderness one could be lost in
Lost many battles
Acting on impulse
Reacting with uncontrolled emotion
Never pausing to consider a reasonable course
I’ve felt the fire countless times
Intensified by a prison cell
12 by 9
A victim stance was my position
Playing the blame game
Meanwhile, in reality
My condition remained the same
Most my lessons come the hard way
But were received nonetheless
My understanding is that much greater
I feel truly blessed
Being a thought of Allah made manifest
I consciously create
Striving every day to be the captain of this ship
The true master of my fate
The war is far from won
But my book is far from done
I have nothing to lose
But everything to gain
These first few chapters have been spent
Mastering the pain
Learning how to love
Breaking my mental chains
Rising above
This next section will be marked by liberty
I’ll be free to pursue the queen that my heart desires
She’ll be free to embrace our chemistry
Won’t need a power of attorney
I can handle my affairs myself
I can eat life giving foods
That actually replenish my health
No more limitations
Everything is possible
With discipline, persistence, patience
I overcome all obstacles
The Whole Truth
By MJR
A great man ain’t always the interpreter of great things
For he is imperfect in the eyes of those selfishly unwilling to make change
Yet life offers up all the free-will and right to pave the way
To those who follow our footsteps ambitiously and humbly at a patient pace
The foundation of my struggles is what made me critically elevate my hustle
To bag up a success plan and distribute it to a positive future that outwits the Devil
Move along Blackman is what the oppressor says
I hate you n****** is the message hidden in what he can’t and will not say
Why?
Because he fears our strength and envies our cultural essence
We are the original people enslaved by manipulation and God’s divine glory of blessings
So first time it’s shame on you and second time it’s shame on me
Why is it that the same crime my oppressor commits always seem to get blamed on me
We living in a world where misconception is held in high regards of truth
I guess that’s why when they say “Freeze, put your hands up”
It motivates them to “Shoot”
Just Past the Horizon
By AC
Just past the horizon, I
will fly past the clouds
in my everlasting guest
to just once touch the sky.
Just past the horizon, I hope
to obtain these long dreamt of goals;
the ones for which I’m still fighting
and the ones for which I have fought.
Just past the horizon, I know
I can build the foundations for better days to come
something peaceful, something calm,
something slow.
Just past the horizon, I see
that the unwritten promise
of a much brighter future
is waiting for me.
Just past the horizon, I see
the possibilities of who and what I can be.
Just past the horizon, I’m waiting for
the correct doors to open
which will grant me passage
to tangible dreams and hopefully more.
Just past the horizon, I will
become a totally different person, yet still
hold on to the essence
of what makes living my life such a thrill.
Just past the horizon, I
will attempt to find the ever-evolving truth about my potential
in an effort to eliminate the fears and the doubts
which feed the self-loathing lies
that eat me inside.
The ones that could up my judgement
and keep holding me back
from getting more out of me,
from getting more out of life.
From getting something so simple
and yet so very profound:
Something like the ability to be walking around
with a soul full of joy
and a heart full of pride.
Untitled
By WS
I was a young man on a confused journey.
Lost inside my own world.
Misled to a path that never existed.
A child in the streets who grew up to be a man with no vision
and no presence.
Outside, my world appeared bright,
but inside my heart was full of pouring rain.
The only love I ever knew was the streets.
Until it divorced me,
leaving me all alone.
I became a victim in my own savage game.
Untamed, until I was forced into locks and chains.
But never will I cry.
Everyday is now a blessing.
By losing, a winner I became.
It took me a long time to see it when all
I had to do was just open my eyes.
Sky
By TH
So many times I wondered why
no matter how hard I tried
I just couldn’t see the sky….
Buried deep in a cell
a feeling deeper than hell...
Behind a steel door
same cold concrete
on the ceiling and the floor…
In my heart I know the seasons
still change from summer to fall…
The pain of missing a window pane
leaves me to wonder if there are
any seasons at all….
Missing so much of the outside
world often makes me cry…
I find myself on my knees
hoping, begging, praying
for just a glimpse of the SKY.