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.
If I Was Your Man
By JP
Even if we cannot be together
I hope he adores you and your heart he treasures
Makes you smile because your smile brings so much pleasure
And he blows your mind beyond its wildest measures
I hope he buys you flowers
Gives you his coat in rain storms and showers
Listens to you, talk for hours
And he keeps you safe from snakes, busters, and cowards
I hope he holds your hands
Kisses your soft lips no matter where you stand
Don’t get mad when you make numerous demands
And that all your wishes are his commands
I hope he cherishes the ground you walk on
Never argues with you and lets bygones be bygones
Builds you back up when your confidence is torn
And that he buys you new shoes when yours get old and worn
I hope he takes you out to eat and dance
It may sound corny but it’s all romance
If he does this then I know I don’t stand a chance
These are the things I would’ve done if I was your man
If You Wanta Know
By Alisha, Free Minds Poet Ambassador
I won’t write just to write
Even though they ask me to fill this space with words
They wanta know why I sing and set birds free.
They want to see my faded past
From a story line of poetic theories
Of rocky poetry…
They want me to fill this space
So I tell them
If you want to know of my life
Go into the darkest place of your soul
And let a little light shine through… then reach
And if you wanta know where I’ve been
Just read a book on evolution,
And if you wanta know where I’m going
Just kiss the plams of my hands
Because I’m evolving outa darkness
And grabbing on to life
Just so I can fill your space
With wise words
This poem was written on the recent Free Minds retreat to Sandy Spring Friends School, after walking in silence through a former stretch of the Underground Railroad.
I Come From
By Gary
Free Minds Poet Ambassador
I come from a struggle
Welfare mother on drugs
And a dog eat dog world
Where they say only the strong survive
And you watch the murder of friends
Through your innocent eyes
I come from where the devil is strong
And God is weak
And the only time you pray
Is for something to eat
I come from a society of its own
But where I’m going is a different spiritual zone
Where I can sit and write at Sandy Spring lake
And not have to worry who is creeping behind the gate
I’m going to where God is pushed first
And the devil is so shallow
And temptation is so hollow
And my new friends so positive I’m not afraid to follow
Where I’m going is someplace positive
You might want to go
This poem was written on the recent Free Minds retreat to Sandy Spring Friends School, after walking in silence through a former stretch of the Underground Railroad.
Forever Walking
By DL
Grab my hand and let’s take a walk
I’ll keep you warm; I’ll be your scarf
Our friendship will mold into a work of art
As long as our hands don’t break apart
Love and loyalty is all I want
One day without you feels like a month
Lost without a cure, you finally found me
You traveled far when the path was cloudy
You reached out your hand and entwined it with mine
As we dance on a cloud, lost in time
Your hiding place is in my heart
The door is open, no key no lock
A flower garden is where we’ll sit
As I compare the flowers to your luscious lips
A kiss by the river will have us suspended in air
While your love has me trapped, I’m forever ensnared
When the sky breaks open and God starts calling
We’ll still be holding hands… forever… walking
Triumphant
By GB
Going through struggles is a part of life,
So no matter what your endeavors are to conquer or overcome
Such resistance is up to you
Giving up should never be an option for yourself
Going through the struggle builds character
And then everyone will see how much you grew
You don’t do it for them
You do it for yourself
The achievement alone shows your strength
And that is the greatest victory
And once you reach that completion
Your success shall go further than you can imagine
What a life-changing journey
And one amazing story
Your adversaries shall be your motivation
To more victorious gaining in your new life
So love thy enemy
And forgive them for being antagonists
That’s how you conquest over your foes with kindness
And agree that’s a fine accomplishment
To handle conflict with your heart and not your fist
So once you reach the top of that mountain of peace of mind
Don’t lose it and so be alertly watchful to avoid trouble
Be a vigilante
‘Cause you made it to the end
You went through hell and back
And now look at you…you came out
Triumphant
On the Same Page: Coping with a Parent in Prison
Free Minds frequently holds “On the Same Page” events, in which members who have completed their sentences and returned to society – our Poet Ambassadors – share their writing and their stories of personal growth and positive change with the community to prevent violence and demonstrate the power of reading and writing to transcend challenges.
Last week, we held a particularly powerful On the Same Page event with middle school students from Chesapeake, Virginia. We end each On the Same Page with a Toast for Change, during which everyone present shares some way they hope to grow as a result of what we learned together that day. During the Toast, a courageous 13-year-old young woman named KW shared openly for the first time that her own father is incarcerated. Poet Ambassador LaTrae spoke with her after about his own experience and struggle coping with his father being imprisoned, and he shared the feelings of shame and secrecy that touch so many families impacted by incarceration. It served as a powerful example of the connection that comes from sharing ourselves and our stories.
Since the event, KW has written a number of poems to explore her feelings. We are posting them here to share and celebrate her strong voice and to continue creating space for all those touched by incarceration to share their stories, connect, and grow together. Thank you, KW, for your strength, your courage, and your willingness to share!
Da Struggle
By JP
Kids starving, momma nodding and pops foreign
These are the broken homes that most of us were born in
No food, no heat, and no water
This here is poverty, where life expectancy is much shorter
No shoes, holey clothes, and runny noses
In a place where praying is unheard of and who is Moses?
Prostitutes, drug dealers and cold killers
Doing errands for them so I could eat is all I remember
Birthdays was the worst days
We had to steal out of stores when we was thirsty
They say that there ain’t no love for the wicked
But don’t judge us, life chose us—we didn’t pick it
Surrounded by steel gates, none of them pickets
It’s like we were raised for jail, I don’t get it
Kids getting used, molested, and abused
Wearing long sleeves to school to hide the bruise
“M.O.B.,” a lot of dudes say; they live by the rules
And the young girls think it’s cute, but they are so confused
But I love where I’m from—don’t get it misconstrued
Even back when my lil bro was crying from hunger
And I ain’t know what to do
A couple of years later and it still draws emotions from you
And it’s still taking our young men to jail by the bundles
I’m a proud survivor of our world that we call the jungle
And even when I get old and rich, I’ll always remember “da struggle”
We Gotta Be Strong
By LB
We gotta learn to be strong
We gotta know right from wrong
We all make stupid mistakes
We all cried for days that could turn into lakes
We all need to take a deep breathe
Being strong will make us invincible to pain
Life surely isn’t to be taken as a game
Being strong will help us understand
We all gotta know where we stand
Temptation
By DJ
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights but fast days
Stressing just thinking
I could get a couple grand
Off a couple grams
Temptation, damn
Stuck in my daydream of making a living off a life of crime
Forgetting about the consequences and possible jail time
But that won’t happen to me
That’s what she told me
You’re too slick
You move too quick
Is what temptation told me
But what she didn’t tell me is prisons are filled with people
All race and backgrounds who listened to temptation
I was tempted not to write this
But I just hope my mistakes could be an eye opener for someone
Ascend
By DL
My worries make me upset
And my toils make me bitter
My heart always misleads me
But my blood pumps quicker
My soul has been drowned
And my wings have been clipped
I was once a glorious Angel
But now I roam the devil’s pit
Full of transgressions
Violence quenches my thirst
I know no one can find me
But I still seek to be searched
I bow my head in shame
As chains hold me to the ground
There are others just like me
But I can’t blend in with the crowd
Boils grow all over my body
As I get slashed with a whip
Pain gets lost in memory
As my bones become content
Tears turn into ashes
Skin turns into dust
But the light beckons for my attention
As GOD lifts me up
Dust turns into skin
Ashes into tears
My wings grow twice as big
As my soul reappears
As I ascend into the light
I take one last look at hell
I still know my battle awaits me
But with GOD I can never fail
What If
By AG
What if human beings lived eternal life
No harm, crime, or death caused by gun or knife
What if pain was a desired pleasure
That healed heartache and found lost treasures
What if dollars hung from trees
And tons of gold could be fished from seas
What if rain washed away hate
And thunderstorms drowned envy for goodness sake
What if the wind was a daily guide
That held your best interest and stayed by your side
What if God was a phone call away
To sense the problems you face day to day
Is it too much to wish that I was blessed with a gift
To make a dream a reality instead of a “What If”?
Loving with Free Minds
By CM
When I let my mind wander
There’s no telling where I will go
From loving you on the beaches
To loving you in the snow
But I‘m loving you all the time
It’s imperative that you know!
You’ve been loving me through this jail
In your letters your love shows
But our loving’s becoming stale
And I’m hoping that we can grow
So just let your mind wander
In remembrance of me
With thoughts of what we were
And what we still can be
I’m hoping that you remain
The same until I’m free
And able to turn all those aspirations
Into reality
Then we can look back on these days and wonder
How our life would be
If we didn’t let our minds wander