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.

Changing Ways

By VB

No New Year’s resolution for me

No crying decree
No promises, just average changes

Less time stressing

More time working out
Less time talking
More time learning
(more…)

Definition of Me

By MP

When you look at me, what do you see?
Beware of assessments considering only my periphery
Chameleon-like I transform for the world to visualize

(more…)

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Why Do You Lie To Me?

By JF

Why do you lie to me?
To make me feel good for the moment?
To have me looking forward to something that’s never coming?
To keep me from asking you questions?  (more…)

My Heart

By DI

My heart is so torn
Like a hand me down
I feel worn
My heart feels punctured
From a thick vine of thorns
(more…)

Sing Me A Song

By DH

Sing me a song that’s soft for my ears
A melodic one I can share with my peers
Harmonize with my heart and remove all my fears
Your tender words are like hands
So wipe away my tears
The tears of a boy who can’t cry without shame
Or the tears of a man who can’t live without pain
(more…)

Sometimes I Cry

By AH

My daughter’s smile weighs heavy on my heart
So heavy that I’m sitting here crying in the dark
Repeatedly telling myself, “Twon, you should have tried harder”
“Twon, you should have been a better father”
(more…)

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54-N-Beautiful

By: AH
Dedicated 2 My Moms

Ma, I want to apologize for the weight that my life choices have placed upon u,
more over I want to thank u for burying that weight.
This world has placed a heavy burden upon your shoulders
But u carry that weight like a true soldier
Smiling when the circumstance ask of u to cry
Telling the truth refusing to lie
A Goddess is what I see in u  (more…)

Staring at the Wall

By CW

I was warned there’d be times like these
But nothing could’ve prepared me for Dr. Swartz
Who comes around once a week
Peeking in my cell like he knows me better than I know myself
I’ll bet he gets a kick out of seeing a 22 year old
Who has been locked away in a cell since he was 16
Who has 30 more to go if a blessing doesn’t come through this damn wall
That he’s been staring at for the past 6 hours (more…)

The Tears of a Prisoner

By AR

When I weep, I weep for those of us who’ve, as a result of our own whims, paid the price of our freedom.
I cry for those of us who’ve been forewarned of our demise and still….remained heedless.
I mourn for my people, who incarceration has weakened.
My tears fall for this broken justice system, that’s failed the masses.
I cry for my peers in handcuffs, restraints and shackles.
For young Michael and Freddie, my tears flow steady.  (more…)

Body of Words

By DM

Call it what you want, I’m going to call it how I feel
But one thing we all know is I’m going to keep it real
I believe it was “Will” who made me carry around that cold steel
See what I mean?
That’s the dummy in me
Who believed instead of working for it, it was better to steal  (more…)

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Is It Too Late?

By DH

Is it too late to save my soul from its evil flesh?
Without causing me harm or laying me down to rest?
Because my body has led me down a destructive path
And my soul is scared of the future because of my wicked past
Is it too late to wash my heart and make it clean and pure?  (more…)

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You Can’t Judge Me

By DJ

You got me all wrong
I’m not a bad person
My looks can’t tell my actions
My choice of words
Doesn’t mean I don’t have a good vocabulary  (more…)

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