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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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
Life or Last
By AG
Life sometimes unfolds unexpected things
Maybe life was meant to be tender sweet
Or maybe life was meant to hurt and sting
I’m 22 years old from Southeast, D.C.
So my young good men on Title 16
I definitely understand and know what you mean
Survival of the fittest
Chasing girls and riches
One thing as young men we must understand
Our future street goals
Is another man’s past
Life unfolds unexpected things but
We all can expect in the streets
Nothing lasts
Proverbs 13 verse 20:
He who walks with the wise men will be wise but
The companion of fools will be destroyed
Last Summer
By DW
Sleepless nights and endless love
Distractions afar
The summer haze clouding the world around us
Discrete discussions
Fingers entwined and hearts sealed
Chasing dreams of quiet storms and warm winters
Looking in to your emerald worlds
My fears ceased
I Will Cry For The Little Boy
By HF
I will cry for the little boy
In shackles and away from home
I will cry for the little boy
Trapped in a cell all alone
I will cry for the little boy
Whose heart is too cold to weep
I will cry for the little boy
Pain never lets him sleep
I will cry for the little boy
He was buried alive in the burning sand
I will cry for the little boy
The boy sentenced to life like a man
I will cry for the little boy
Who knows his soul is in chains
I will cry for the little boy
His spirit died again and again
I will cry for the little boy
A good boy he tried to be
I will cry for the little boy
That died inside of me
Free Minds Rap
By RJ
Free Minds, we on another level
Digging in the earth, wisdom is the shovel
Beyond this life, I’m guided like a pedal
Still chasing goalz, I’m reaching for a medal
You can be positive, just do more
Everybody has a way, just choose yours
Never loosen up, always leave your screws on
Open up your eyes, you can open a new door
Think you in the struggle by yourself, but you’re not alone
I know sometimes it gets hard, without a back bone
When you’re seeking out knowledge, it feels unknown
Just never give up, be strong and hold on
You’re on a roller coaster, different turns, might take a twist
You don’t have room for new ideas, then make it fit
All the bad for this journey, you won’t be needing it
And for the ones that need help, I hope you enjoying reading this
My Reality
By AH
I am a shallow shell
The crab that was once inside of me has died
Murdered in cold blood
Simply misled
I didn’t fully understand the repercussions to my decisions
My mind was too wrapped around things that were senseless
Now as a young man I know what it feels like
To be told the beginning
Is really the end of my life
To be confined to a coffin
Body filled with invisible scars
The youth needs to learn that this is the type of sh*t that
Happens when u are unaware of who u are
Cuz, the streets never gave me sh*t but a gift of disillusion
Which left me with a cold heart, no freedom, and mental bruises
Maybe it’s safe to say
That the man I am today
Is still being haunted
By the man I was yesterday
And I am afraid
Because my darkest dreams may become my reality
God please remove these demons from around me
I don’t want to die
Young, confused, and mad
I don’t want to be counted amongst the broken men
My sisters
This is my reality
So vivid, hurtful And rife
It’s like someone’s hands are over my eyes
Because I’m struggling to see the light
Young brothers, this is my reality
Controlled movement, toilets, and doors
My Reality is real,
I don’t know about yours
Today
By BG
I thank God
Today’s a new day
Kick it off with a few lines
As I pray
Another day, you let me see the daylight
10 went past
We was out like yesterday
Got my night light on in my cell
As I write away
The Mask
By HF
The mask, positive to conceal the pain
The mask, negative to succumb to shame
What mask to wear, when, where, and how
Fortune 500 Board of Directors seat, is it best to wear it now?
Should we only wear the mask, when it’s life or death?
Post racism, post Obama, is it safe to show our faces yet?
I wear the mask because I’m a Menace to Society
Do I shed the mask, for Black Lives to Matter to me?
If I reveal my true countenance, who will I see?
Should I illuminate as a dark prince, will this white world reject me (Jeremiah Hamilton)
My frowns nuanced smiles, I’ll continue to conceal the fact
That I wear the Mask, because it’s too dangerous to be too Black