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.
Change in the Air
By IS
I can feel a change in the air
A change that isn’t fair
Taking something that I love so much
My pride and my honor that can never be touched
Change could be a good thing
Or change could be tough
It can leave you wondering
Wondering if it’s enough
Are you changing for yourself
Or changing for someone else?
Never will I change to impress
But sometimes change happens for the best
Changing your mindset in order to progress
Before and After
By BS
Before
My little brother was burned in the fire
After
I had felt that life could get no better
I felt that no one could have a better brother
I acted as if I lost my best friend
I wished I never had to experience this
I just wish I had one wish
We Are Only Human
By IS
We as people always make mistakes
Not understanding the consequences until it’s too late
And never thinking about the risks that we make
Until that day comes when it’s too late
We are only human
No one person is perfect
Wishing we can take back what we did
Knowing it wasn’t worth it
Hoping and praying for a second chance at life
And forgiven for something that won’t happen twice
We are only human
Why consider me a monster without even knowing me
Looking at me from my mistake by continuously scolding me
I feel a great deal of remorse for my mistake
But when looking into your eyes all I see is hate
All I see is punishment and the quality is great
We… Are… Only… Human…
My Life
By BP
My life
Living it bad and doing it wrong
I need a change just like that poor man on the street
In and out this life
It’s like a wish
I wish and I wish for a change
Losing my friends and family
For that change I wish and I wish
I can change
Seeing my mother cry
And losing me and my life
And mama losing me
That change
That change
Got that change
A Pencil In My Hand
By IS
Put a pencil in my hand
And a sketch pad in front of me
My mind’s so focused
It feels like the whole world is under me
My imagination goes wild
And my hand thinks for itself
Listening to what my mind thinks
And stuck on nothing else
Change (Till I Can Show My Momma)
By KC
They say change is easy but I disagree
Judge acts like I’m the first
Though it’s been millions of brothas before me
I believe change is harder for some
Cuz not all these dudes come from the slums
Noodles change to lobster
KoolAid turn to wine
Yeah it sounds fine
Worries the size of dimes
I swear I wish I could
But I realize the truth
I’ma keep trying
Till I can show my momma
That I changed
The Reason
By CR
I once thought that I’d be right now out there with my men
But now I only think about the tragedies I’ve been through with my men
Almost been killed more than my hands can count
And still I’m out there doing me
Now I see the reason why Allah put me here
To get more knowledge and change my mindset
I can say that I’ve been getting knowledge
But my mindset is still stuck on them streets
I Gotta Make It
By DC
I’m chasing satisfaction on a broken leg
Steady treading water on a steady shore
With a covert attitude, but an aura that depicts pure
I walk a lonely road, but yet I’m steady fighting demons
But if I keep my eyes shut, it will defeat the point of seeing
So I conquer all that tends to conquer human beings
The brain is real intricate…tends to make you muse
Thoughts come tangled up…some hard to un-loose
I’m a warrior, not a soldier
I don’t get ready, I stay ready
Pursuit of happiness? Anyone know the path?
How can you value or cherish something you never had?
How can you understand a language that leads to many places?
Or recognize a code that resembles so many faces?
Life is like a maze, victory is timed
So I keep my head up as if I’m waiting on a sign
Only ten toes on the ground
Because it’s the same fight – different round!
They tell me not to steal…
But every opportunity—I must take it!
And life is dealt raw…
But as for mine, I gotta make it!
Being on Lock
By DJ
A start from home
I started alone
Very far place like America to Rome
Everything posing
Watching all four walls close in
Behind a door that never opens
Time never stops
23 hours of being on lock
Could have been worse—could’ve ended up in a box
But this is the story of being on lock.
Incarcerated individuals placed on “lockdown” are kept alone in their cell for 23 hours per day and given one hour for exercise and recreation. Since writing this poem, DJ has returned to the DC Jail’s general population.
A Mother’s Love
By IS
Your mother’s love is tender and soft
You’re her employee and she’s the boss
She gave you life and gives you love
Everlasting joy and never-ending hugs
She was there from the start
And you’ll be there until her end
She’s my mother, my sister,
And my favorite best friend