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.
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
Your Soul
By DL
It all starts with a vision
A passion to reach great heights
First, it all starts with finding yourself
But this cannot be accomplished overnight
Dig deep into yourself
To a place you’ve never been
To a place where there is only light
The goodness that is within
And when you find it; embrace it
You have just discovered your soul
Attain it and cherish it
It is your inner gold
Let it guide you on your path through life
For this road is not meant to be walked alone
Let it guide you on your path to life
A place where many are not meant to go
So when you finally reach your destination
And success become your stepping stone
Be joyful, be proud
Others may have set the bar but you now own the throne
New Life
By GB
My old life was all about me and me alone
I didn’t care or think about anyone else
I did what I wanted, didn’t care about the consequences
I was all about self
My old life landed me in and out of jail
Hurtin’ the ones I love
The old life of mine didn’t care about committing sins
And never was worried about the Man Above
The Man Above gave me every opportunity
To better myself in the book
From a full-time construction job to going to the Everest Institute
And all I did was took
Took it all for granted—
Got fired, caught another case, and had to drop out of school
Sad to say, I didn’t even care
As long as I still had every one of my friends’ respect
And was still considered cool
But it’s not cool to leave the woman you love
Out there by herself, to fend for a child you made
Or to put the woman who raised you through hell,
Now she’s in a house feeling jade
That’s when I realized I have to better my life
Not for me, but the ones I love:
My girl, big bro, my moms, my son, and grandmothers
It’s time to stop thinking about self
And start caring and thinking about others
So when I get home, Imma do right by my mom & birth mom,
Stop worrying my big bro, my grandmothers
Show my son, what a man is supposed to be, and turn my girl
So I’m looking forward to the future
Can’t wait to get outta here to show them all the change
For them to see my strong faith in God
And live my better and brand New Life
What is Life?!
By CM
What is life?
Life is beautiful
Life is hard
Life is reckless and carefree
Life is a blessing
Life is stressing
Life is adventurous
Life is scary
Life is full of loving and caring
Life is long, life is short
Life is something that can’t be taught
Life is painful, life is pleasure
Life is intricate
Life is oh so many things all combined in one
But we’ll never know the true definition
We just live it until it’s done
And although we live our lives
We can sometimes feel lifeless
Have you ever had a feeling like this?
Are you dreaming of a life to live
Or are you just living your life?
But then the question still remains…
What is Life?
Mango Tree
By MH
Imagine how being in this damn cage
Used to produce a lot of hatred, depression, rage
But 23 and 1 now?
Naw
I slow stroke books and savor each page
See, I developed myself to be
Militant minded and scholarly grounded
Maturity, my manhood, Islam….
In jail is where I found it
Forget a rose
I grew a mango tree out of steel and concrete
Myam Erica
By TH
Myam Erica
Where you’re either struck
With poverty late or born
With next to nothing..
Where your wealth is determined
By what drugs you’re smoking..
No father figure,
So the hustlers get put on pedestals,
And parents use their kids as everyday drug mules..
Myam Erica
Where I’m labeled as a product of my environment
Conditioned to believe my power came from a prison sentence..
No hood affiliation is seen as a major flaw..
And our number 1 goal in life
Is to simply break the law..
Myam Erica
Where we learn more from music than our school books..
And the first thing we practice is not a jumpshot,
But our “cold Killer look”..
No time for dull moments, so we search for our fun..
But the games we play
Always deal with bullets and a gun..
See, I could paint a vivid picture
With a brushstroke like Picasso..
Or turn experience into music
Like your favorite singer with their piano..
Show off my intelligence
And let them know we can better us..
But that would go against everything taught in…
My America
If I Was a Perfect Man
By DB
If I was a perfect man
I would never fall but always stand
For the things I believe and the ones I don’t understand
If I was a perfect man
My manners would be different
Like yes, no, and excuse me ma’am
If I was a perfect man
I would drink out of a glass and not a can
And greet my peers by shaking hands
If I was a perfect man
I would never tell lies to gather fans
Or turn my back against my mans
Or do destructive things to increase or advance
If I was a perfect man
If I was a perfect man
I wouldn’t fly just to land
But soar across to prove that I can
Somewhat be a perfect man
Two Sides
By GD
My eyes look dry
But truly my heart cries
I’m peaceful to society’s eye
But inside I fight my demon’s cry
Two sides to each story
Two sides to a book
I’m an ex-felon but truly not a crook
Drugs have no need in my life
All I need is
Free-Minds
Books
And a pen to write
Run Away Clock
By AG
Just yesterday it seems I was a child experiencing fun
Rude awakening to the responsibilities of an adult that’s twenty-one
Being a kid is wonderful, yet I didn’t believe the hype
Now that I’m grown I dread reality, classified the immature type
Every second counts when indulged in a race
Time is of the essence, which prefers the faster pace
The day welcomes the moon, as the sun retires the night
Twenty-four hours quickly vanishes right before your sight
I need a stopwatch to put life on hold
From losing teeth to going gray the swift approach to getting old.
Cherish good moments, be sure to make them last
Months transform to years as memories come to past
Thoughts clouded by anger as I plot revenge with a rock
The task at hand is to destroy the life of the Run Away Clock