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.
Ruined At Birth
By A.G.
Ruined
From the day I was born
To walk, running across the street
To the sound of my name being called
Almost got hit by the 96 bus
Ruined
From the day I could talk
Scared to ask questions
Because I didn’t want to feel
The belt against my butt
Ruined
From the first day I cried
But no one cared
So I wished I was dead
Ruined
From this day on no longer weak
But strong, mature and ready
To be a changed man and
Not that immature little boy
Born Ruined
About This Blog
All of the poems on this website are written by incarcerated members of Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop. This blog is a valuable link to the external community and an important outlet for their voices to be heard. Every week, we print out the comments you leave and mail them to the writers which is a huge motivator for the new poets. Unfortunately, none of our members have internet access while in jail or federal prison, so we are not able to share your “likes” with them. If you “like” a post, please also leave a comment on the poem!
Thank you for your encouraging words!
I Like But I Love
By M.A.
I like da way you smile Boo,
Like da way you fake mug 2,
I like da way you keep ur sh*t new,
From ur lashes – 2 ur clothes – 2 ur nails – 2 ur hairdo,
I like da way you move when you walk,
I like how you stay fly like a hawk,
I just like how you make a n**** wanna stalk,
I like how you be fakin – you sound sexy when you talk,
I like da way you keep me happy all da time,
I like you Baby Girl cuz you so Damn Fine,
I like da way you made me wait my whole life 4 mine,
So now we goin shine so bright we goin make dey ass blind,
I like da way you keep it real wit me,
I like da way you lie 2 me,
I like ur Taurus Person-ality,
But, I LOVE every – single – thing about YOU
Dats comin from INSIDE of ME!!
Thug Life
By D.L.
When you walking in your mom house
And you ain’t got nothing in the refrigerator
And now it to the street to bust block
Sell crack in the trap house
Mama crying wishing her baby was home
And now he in the life of drugs
Doing everything under the sun
And all you hear is thug life
That all we know
The Wrong Places
By R.D.
Looking for love, but like they say
In all the wrong places, lol
Looking for the right female, time
A lot I have been wasting.
I think I understand what they mean
About the wrong places!
You don’t always find love in people
It can be a place an object it can be anything!
Don’t waste your time chasing after humans it’s frustrating
Live life, love living, because no one knows
If they’re going to wake up in the morning
Pursuing love, but maybe we should be pursuing the things we love to do
Pursuing love, maybe you should pursue the love, of just loving you! lol
Confined
By D.H.
Being confined with the same address all the time
6oz juices and the side orders are slime
I’m discourage from coming out and succeeding
Most of the time, feel like my heart’s bleeding
Leaving is an intriguing idea I have
Because staying is like catching a right jab
You’re knocked out and locked out of society
Certainly have talents, an extensive variety
Everyday you’re collective and cool as a TomCat
The primary goal is successfully coming out of combat
It’s a fight and struggle in a way
Because good news can complicate your day
In My Lifetime
By M.B.
In my lifetime I hope to see
Me as an old person
With my gray hair and old skin.
I hope to be a part of catching
A UFO without letting it get away
So the U.S.A. can show the world
What is inside of it.
Brother
By A.G.
Who’s my brother
It’s not that I don’t have a brother
but when I was hurt, stress, down
and out, he left, he disappeared
like the weather
Am I my brother’s keeper?
I am but when I think of him my
heart gets weaker
because I know he’ll leave me leaking
Brother
All that means is that we share
the same mother
but I’ve cried for him, I’ve lied for
him, I’ve even thought of dying
for him
for my brother
I’ll give a kidney for him, a lung
for him, I’ll even rip out
my heart for him.
To save his life to show that
I’ll die for mines, that’s the
reason I’m sitting in prison
doing time
Brother I love my brother,
Brother I miss my brother
Brother I sure wouldn’t kiss my
brother –LLS-
But it still doesn’t kill the fact
That he’s my brother
Brother
My Journey
By V.M.
Day and night is to be
Successful and to succeed
I came up and came down
When it was all said and done
I was rumbling pound to pound
In my darkest nightmare
Something I ask for
An really got what I wanted
But it was not being successful
It was being the person inside
Of me what I was not trying
Fight on them streets because
I was scared of what the
World would say that was around me
It was tearing me apart
From my family and tryna be successful.
Now it’s a fed travel plan that goes from prison to prison
South Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, California
An where does it stop
It never stops, we all have plenty of opportunity
To get back up and be successful and succeed.
I Once Was A Rascal
By W.W (aka Word Play)
Yeah I once was a rascal
Cuz coming up in the hood is a hassle
Make it out Boy I have to
Cuz the pillars are fallen
And n***** move in procession
So I’m askin’ the question
To use words as profession
So my thoughts and my words clash
Hear the percussion
Still got a lot to learn
Just say I’m under construction
So in my mind I think mayhem
In my heart it beats rhythm
I try to be solemn
Right now wrong column
Combat with the problem
Or canvass the rascal
Cuz he’s too much of a hassle
Inner Self
By J.M.
Now I’m just sitting here wondering how so many people in today’s society live life day by day without a real understanding of their self, such as knowing who they are or what they’re worth! Now the reason I say this is because me, as a young Muslim man, I was once in society and I never knew who I really was really because I was always living up to others’ expectations, playing the role of my alter ego. But I’ve come to the conclusion that egos come from two things: (A) Fear and (B) Hope. The reason is because a person, no matter who it is, always fear something/someone or rejection (disapproval) and for hope you all know what hope means. It’s self-explanatory. So you know it’s best to know yourself before anything because without having a good understanding of yourself, it’ll be hard to understand somebody else! So look within yourself and find the qualities you hold.
Note: Every quality has two sides: good-n-bad! And learn what you‘re worth so you’ll know what the next person is worth and be able to communicate on the same level!