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.
Click on the poem title to open it up, and then post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem.
I’m Thankful
By B.
I’m thankful for the first time I felt pain
because I’ve learned that something in life
is not a game.
I thank God for the first time I experienced
the loss of a friend’s life
it taught me life is precious and if you don’t respect it,
it might be your last night.
I thank God for the time in lock-down for 23-1,*
because even in darkness
I was awakened by the morning sun.
I’m thankful that I’ve been separated from woman,
God’s most precious treasured molded in gold.
Their beauty is so incomprehensive
and complete, man’s soul.
I thank God for allowing my friends
to testify against me on the stand;
at that moment I knew he was all I had
and my faith should never be put in man.
Some day and night through Karma
the things you see in the dark comes to light.
So I’m thankful most for seeing things
not just black and white,
but in 360 degrees a complete circle of life.
Life is moment of impact that causes ripples in the sea
the things we go through is a reflection
And not our true destiny.
So don’t be weary of what you go through
in the valley of death
but be proud of the reflection
in the mirror of the man that’s left.
*23-1 refers to being in a cell for 23 hours a day, with only 1 hour outside.
Here Again
By LC
I think I’ve been here before
Belly chains and ankle shackles
Stacked on top of each other
I just ate where I defecate
Is this 2016?
Or a New World southern state?
I think I’ve been here before
Hundreds of miles from my birthplace
Ain’t seen a loved one in 10 years
Long days and a lot of tears
Death as a slave is my worst fear
I think I’ve been here before
Voices of abolitionist
Stories of freedom to the North
Stories of freedom through the courts!
Injustices rectified
Involuntary servitude nullifies
I think I’ve been here before
Arms linked in a show of unity
White and black alike
For justice, we march
For freedom, we fight
I think I’ve been here before
And we weathered the storm
I know I’ve been here before
And through strife is where
victory will come
I Am Thankful For
By K.
I am thankful for music
As this is the calming I need each day
I am thankful for literature
As it provides a temporary escape from reality
I am thankful for my health
As I am better able to help those around me
I am thankful for my friends
As they help me keep life in perspective
I am thankful for my education and wisdom
As I am better prepared for life’s daily struggles
I am thankful for my godmother
As she has shown me true unconditional love
Most of all I am thankful for God Almighty
As He has given me the capacity to forgive and love
What are you thankful for?
What Goes Unspoken
By SK
Why is my life not valued the same as yours?
Why are my rights the same but still ignored?
Am I not human, am I not living?
Are we the same being or are our species different?
I can’t tell and you can’t truth
But lie well, you indeed do
All lives matter the same
But mine is not seen, unless in shame
My history changed into what you want me to see
Mirror of my life altered into what you want me to be
Force my words until peace is a tongue we can no longer speak
Bring a big pie of violence that we can all eat
Mmmmm! Smells of cherry deceit
Try to crush me until I crumble but I stand in undefeat
Mockery of your society
Lands me in a state of dire need
Despite the liars
He strives to be
Higher on hiring employees
To build my cause, to cause the fall of your company
What goes on unspoken
Free Your Mind
By LC
Free your time so I can Free your mind
They traded auction blocks for courtrooms
Free your time so I can Free your mind
So now the bullpen holding more brothers than it’s supposed to
Free your time so I can Free your mind
Looks to me like slavery is still well and alive
Free your time so I can Free your mind
The prison industrial complex is extracting millions from our communities
Free your time so I can Free your mind
The only way to fight this is with education and unity
Free your time so I can Free your mind
He who possesses the Philosopher’s stone possesses the Truth
Free your time so I can Free your mind
And you can look within and find that truth in you
Free Minds transcend time
The Unthinkable
By RN
Trapped in a place away from where I want to be
With feelings I deaded, resurrected back and haunting me
Pandora’s Box unlocked sat right in front of me
An empty space to fill it with whatever that I want it to be
How crazy it is it’s you and me I’ll rather see
Other than who’s close to your heart that who’s been wanting me
I feel guilty for these thoughts but the heart is the chooser
I feel wrong like when the help is becoming the user
The thoughts hurt in my head and it could be a tumor
The whispers you’re hearing out love is in fact not a rumor
It’s just some measures doesn’t always equate to the ruler
Damn, how far will I sink before I start to choke?
How many burdens must be removed for me to come afloat?
How will I even get you to see beyond the scope?
How bout we both just go for what’s certain and give up the hope?
Yeah, I think I like what is more than what isn’t
And that’s the feeling of your presence through these halls in prison
Without an option can you even make the best decision?
Without a problem will you even hear someone’s opinion?
Huh! I guess rhetorical it is the most
Guess it’s the memories I hear of you and not a ghost
I guess it’s all safe to say than keep it bottled closed
A tattoo of your name
I did the unthinkable
The Difference Between Dr. King And Me
By SH
I don’t believe this is the dream Dr. King had for me
Somewhere along the timeline, my decisions rewrote history
My choices had voices
Those senseless noises shoulda been avoided
But here’s the difference…
When King was taking a stand and marchin’ for a cause
I was taking a fall and wasn’t marchin’ at all
Couldn’t cover the distance of 3 days and 54 miles, in search of a vision
That the march on Selma, for those who didn’t get it
King stood for peace
While I stood for the streets, which lead me to a place I no longer wanna be
His life brought us Civil Rights
And I sold my freedom to time
Those decades are now deceased and laid to rest in my mind
King will forever be a legend
While my reputation seems like it’s not worth remembering
When my baby momma showed a picture to my child and asked
“Do you remember him?”
I was a strange face to them
King sold a belief that lifted more lives than I put down on concrete
He moved a nation
I moved to any cell that was vacant
King was an activist, a philanthropist
I was on the active list of warrants that only a felon can get
We both had mug shot faces with a rap sheet
King’s rap sheet bled through with integrity
When he was assassinated on a balcony
My rap sheet bleeds ink, when you read about the worst in me
That a character suicide cause I made up my mind
That I was gonna do or die and that frame of mind
Will never lead me to a Nobel Peace Prize
King’s leadership paved a way with the potential to be great
My leadership dug graves, where I laid my potential to waste
He prayed for better days
I prayed for a better way when it all seemed grey
While King was trying to reconstruct a nation and bring an end to segregation
I’m in the pen politickin’, ready to ride on other races and bring an end to segregation
Situation into a permanent placement
He tried to educate us
I wasn’t trying to be educated enough
King was dream chasin’ and I was chasin’ a buck
That’s penniless sense that no longer adds up
Now here’s the big difference between King and me
I’m living this nightmare and King died for the dream
I think it’s time to wake up and make the change and redirect the course of things
My Ultimate Sun
By RE
Your light shines to the ends of the universe
Far beyond what anyone can see
N.A.S.A. has classified you phenomenal
In all that you embrace with energy and love
To all existence, always persistent
Yet so far and distant
Light years away, but still able to display
Your power, strength and cordiality
You are amazing
What can one do without you?
I’d imagine become weak and bitter
Shiver and wither, from the lack of T.L.C.
Your tender love and care is what I mean
Plus everything in between happiness and elation
You inspire me, Beauty
Awesome Beauty
Inspired me to write this poem
Whispers
By PL
When this old world wears me down
And the darkness comes in layers
I seek a quiet place within myself
And whisper the Lord’s prayer…
I ask for strength to face each day
More fortitude (to endure)
For humility (that I may sacrifice)
And the Holy Spirit’s cure
My foolish pride and arrogance
May sometimes scream naysayer
But when this old world wears me down
I whisper my Lord a prayer…
For protection, guidance, patience and faith
A heart that has no stones
That crooked be suddenly straight
And for heaven to be my home…
When life gets hectic and beats me down
There’s a remedy that I prefer
I don’t rant or rave or wear sad frowns
I bear my soul in whispers
Sometimes I Cry
By DJ
I told a million lies now it’s time to tell a single truth
Sometimes I cry!
It’s hard dealing with my pride not knowing whether to fight or flee
Sometimes I cry
Hard to maintain this image of a tough guy
When deep down inside I am terrified!
If I ever told you I wasn’t scared I lied
Struggling to make it back to society and my family
I cry
I cry for my son who I barely see
Due to these mountains
And me and his mom’s beef
I cry for my siblings who never knew their older brother
Because he stayed in the streets
I cry for my grandma who is now deceased
I cry for my life, half of which they took for me
I cry for my anger and rage the only emotions I can show in this place
I cry for how we treat each other inside these walls
I cry for the lack of unity we have most of all!
When will it end I want to know
Till then all I can do is let these tears flow…
My Cell
By DH
It’s in my blood, the trait of the drug
Sickled wit love for a cause that causes y’all laws
To disease young souljas
I’m trapped in this nightmare and praying for closure
But then I see nightfall
Then my environment slowly breathes quiet
And dark thoughts in my mind coldly creep quiet
I’m replaying the scenes that generations have seen
A past unshorn, while my father’s genes
Fit his boy like compression
Oppression of my bloodline before the Great Depression
My blood cells got invaded by their cancers
Genetically I’m strapped though, like Baking Soda’s Arm & Hammer
This virus…which provokes mental breakdown
But rules been that if you get down you stay down
That’s why I got up with the sunrise
And pretty soon I’ll be walking across the gun line
The gun line boss…you tried to lock me in that cell for life
It’s in my blood and my cells gon’ fight
The hell in my cell