Poems

By RW

As I pace back and forth in my cell
I’m incarcerated but my mind is free
The door is locked but I got the key
I’m looking, but I can’t see
Dreams turn into reality
If loyalty and patience was a person
It would have been me

 I never knew I was at the bottom
Until I made it to the top
My life is harder than a rock
My past is darker than the dark

(The struggle don’t stop)
“I shine even in the dark”

I don’t even worry
About the time I’m facing
(My head is always up even in the worst situation)
I endure hardships with patience!

By SH

I am
A young king
A hustler
By any means
I will survive
No question
That me and success
Will collide

I am
A product of my environment
A lot of money making
A lot of money taking
Shoot outs I been struck by
But now it’s time to walk by
I know what’s right
I know what’s wrong
But to be wrong
Is too much of a sad song
So I went right
And left the BS behind me
I am me

By DL

I come from nothing
Just like Oprah Winfrey
Since I been locked up
I tried to become something
Instead of nothing

By AH

When you love it’s hard to explain
I knew you were the one the moment you spoke my name
But I was so addicted to hate and carnal things
And fighting against love and my own growing pain
That I was left stuck and feeling drained
As reality set in that we were no longer one
I felt a sharp pain throughout my body like I was shot by a gun
What is it about love that makes you fall every time?
Discreetly trying to crack the code to your loved one’s mind
And my heart’s so tired of asking ‘why?’
That I put a sign above it that says ‘DO NOT LIE’
Surely it’s hard to face who you hate
Love is above all a chosen fate
One that even the ignorant can comprehend
But our relationship was over before it began
There was too much lust and not enough love
Still, we carried on dragging our hearts through the mud
In hopes of oneness like our breathing
So, let that be reason
We can’t collect our thoughts
As we carry around a jar full of faults
It was both of our loss
Or was it just mine?
You once told me to pay attention to the signs
And my mother once told me to be careful who I love
Because there’s no rehab to such a powerful drug

By RD

Dear Mama
Your work was well done
Take that from your baby
Your first-born son
I bow my head humbly
To make amends with you
I apologize profusely
For all I put you through
I did not realize
I was unaware
I swear Mama
I wouldn’a took it there

When it came to loving me
You did what you felt was right
My anger and the streets
Blocked out your light
I couldn’t see
The man I was supposed to be
But through it all
You kept on loving me

No matter what is said
When all is said and done
Hold your head high, Mama
That’s from your hard-headed son

By CM

No matter how many adjectives or verbs
I’m still a voice to be heard

When my vision, to you is blurred
I’m still a voice to be heard

While I’m mentally disturbed
I’m still a voice to be heard

When my reason for speaking is absurd
I’m still a voice to be heard

When my pathway is deterred
I’m still a voice to be heard

Even when I can’t say a word
I’m still a voice to be heard

So I refuse to let go of this pen!

By CM

Momma told me that it would be days like this
But I’m pissed….why?
Because it stays like this
And now I’m in a cell
For two decades, oh well
At least I’m alive
Sh**, I coulda been in hell

So when it’s all said and done
I’m still going to be acknowledged
For sticking through when times were blue
And working my way through college

And when it’s all done and said
I’m still gone be known when burned
By holding firm for my appointed term
And encompassing my adversary

And when asked who it was
I’ll say it wasn’t neither he nor she
But all the walls, bars, and gates
That kept me from society

This experience of incarceration has completely changed my character and mindset after just one of my many years to come. You’ll be surprised how much of yourself you can find after or while going through a hardship or calamity.  Peace and blessings be upon you! –CM

By YA

Violence is the reaction of people
When they feel offended by someone or something
Violence is the pain in your heart
Violence is the uncontrollable force that wants to explode inside people
Violence is that force that some people are provoking in others

Violence comes from shattered hearts, the wanting of revenge
(If you do something to me I’m gonna get you back)
The pressure of some people on others
To do something that they don’t want to do
Sometimes wrong friends, wrong places,
Wrong times, and wrong decisions

I see violence everywhere now
It feels like everybody is trying to be part of violence
Fighting over nothing
Hood against hood, race against race,
City against city, country against country

It looks like a volcano erupting
That everybody would stop to watch/see
But you have to be far away from it
Or you gonna end up hurt or killed by it

It smells like toxic gas
That would intoxicate everybody around it
And cause many deaths

It sounds like a song that has a good intro
But the rest is something that you don’t want to hear never again

It tastes like spoiled milk
It feels like fear

Violence threw my life into a deep hole
Away from all things and persons that I love the most
I wish for everybody that uses violence to have the same point of view
And to use only two words:
“Forgiveness and Peace”

I will talk to every young man and girl and share my story
And all the consequences of violence
Violence is one of the most “lethal” diseases in youth these days
And the best weapon of destruction of the evil

Nobody is better than others
We all got qualities
We’re all important for somebody
Nobody is trying to be a victim of violence
So don’t make somebody else a victim of it

By TD

Looking for that star in the sky
Reaching for my dreams,
Wishing to be the best at what I do

Motivating me with your twinkle of light
In a world of haters
Turn on my light brighter
So my people, my family, and friends
Can see me shine bright
In a life of hell
Where I beat the Devil
By accomplishing my dreams

Even though people told me
I wouldn’t be anything
I proved them wrong

So turn up the lights
So that we can all shine bright
Like diamonds in that sky
Freeing us to be
All that we can be

Turn on the lights for us,
Our kids, our future,
Our friends, our families,
Turn them up
So that we can all see them
Shining bright

By AJ

Through all my struggles
I remain a humble man
No pain, no gain!
Sometimes it feels
As if my life is sinking in quicksand
Free Minds is always the lending hand
So much pain!
I wonder when I will gain
How could the rain last this many years?
I strive ‘n strive
In the process shedding many tears
I became a lonely soul
With little to no fears
I stop ‘n think
What’s my purpose here?
With masked emotions
I smile and keep focused
The unforgettable

By EW

My mother got so much on her mind
That she wants to cry
But she smiles
She tells me to do good
But I do it for a lil’ while
She always tells me about the world
Like Obama and a lot of interesting history I don’t know about
She don’t like the music I listen to
Because she don’t want me to be around dat stuff
She gets mad at the lil’ things
Cause if you can do something little
You can do something big
She always tells me to be thankful for what you got
Like her and my family
Even though she don’t have nothing to give me when I need stuff
She gives me love and I move on with my day
She’s smart, strong, and loving and caring for others
Even though you did something you wasn’t supposed to do
She is still with you like a mother do
She wants the best for me
Like going to school and doing what I got to do
She always tell me: ‘Leave the street alone
It’s not for you’
‘Cause I am smart and loving and caring
And I say, ‘I got it from you’
I love my mother with all my heart
It’s the time I start doing something
Before I can’t do nothing
Love you, Ma!

By JC

Finally Home
I can finally do things on my own
I can finally do what I wish to
I can finally depend on myself
I can finally not take orders from someone else
I can finally make my own decisions
I can finally live the way I want to be living
I can finally enjoy this wonderful feeling
I can finally just be free
Freedom
Free At Last
Free At Last
Thank God Almighty
They Finally Freed Me