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.
Life
I’ma live what I speak
Hang where I eat
S*** real in da city
N****s getting smoked for weed
and baby mother getting killed
cause they want to leave a n****
I’m tryna know if my girl love me or not
cause I’m selling weed and driving cars and toting a Glock
I had a dream to be a real gangster
and make it to the top
but I came to jail and got a DC number
and now my a** on lock
I pray for a good wife kids and mansions
but I’m afraid my future
is life in a casket
and some people say s*** happen
but it’s not just
my mother ask me do I wanna die
I said not just yet
Together
I don’t give a f***,
I always want us to be together no matter what!
I swear to god,
I been too kind,
Girl you always on my mind.
I don’t know why,
But I need you in my life,
I wanna put this ring down,
So you can be my wife.
I want us for eva,
No matter what I want us to be together.
All I need is 1 night,
If anybody comes between us I will fight!!
My love for you is high as a kite,
It don’t matter who cares,
I wanna be together for these years.
I want us to be together no matter what.
Out
I was playin’ a card
I was the one goin’ stupid hard
Things was looking funny
But I was always lovin’ the money
But I always hated a drought
I was in but now I’m out!
I love some ones
But I hate the no ones
I’m out now but I use to love them guns
I want things to be different but I want a change
I’ve always been true to the game
I always wanna win no doubt
I was in but now I’m out
Let Go Let Go
Let go Let go
The hood got full control
Stopping me from my goals
Beefin’ kill him
There he got let go
Let go confuse which way do I go
Hypnotized by that phat a** sliding down the pole
The hood got a hold
19 I’m strong enough to let go
And say no to that no to this when your life spinning like a disc
apartment hallways Smelling like piss
I’m pissed I don’t care
F*** this S*** I quit
Where I Am
Where I come from…
I come from a hood where
Thugs on the corner and gunshots at night
where I came from
when you blink wrong that can be your life
where I come from
the young kids runnin’ around with a knife.
Where I come from
most of my friends’ parents are on
the street at night.
Where I am going…
I’m going somewhere in life
wherever I go I’m going to do right
no more streets or fight
where I’m going is a nice place
somewhere to stay out of trouble
Where people don’t judge
You by your race.
Proud
I’m proud of myself
Proud means good, lovely, funny, happy and some other things
But I don’t let my feelings get in the way
I’m always proud
I’m proud that I just had a baby and it was a girl
I’m proud of God keeping me alive
I’m proud of life
Proud
If I Fall
If I fall, can I get back up?
If I fall, can I get up… I wonder
The streets are like quick sand, always
slowing you down, but comes as a surprise
When it sucks you under
I know if I slip a little
I can always catch my balance
Life is like being on ice with no skates
But I always like a challenge
So you’re telling me….
If I fall, I can’t succeed… right
But if I don’t fall, How can I
Know what getting up is like?
Every time I fall, I’m determined to rise again
Just don’t quit on me so easy, and yes
Sometimes I need help from a friend
So maybe this time…
I won’t trip, even if I have bad luck
Because if I fall, I know I’ll get back up
Real Love?
What does it mean to be in love?
It means you really care about her
And you want to make your love grow
And make her feel welcome in your life
And you think can’t nobody take her from you
If y’all mad at the time
Love to me is holding her tight
When I go to sleep at night
But her smile just brightens the light
Loyalty
These fools out here say
They live by the code
But I say they live by the dirt
These fools say they
Got our back no matter what
But when you need them
They are nowhere to be found
I say forget that loyalty code
The only real loyal people I get
Is called “my family”
When I need them they are there on the fly
But I ask myself
Where are all my goons?
When I got my answer they’re
Long gone on 295 going to a different state
That’s why I say
“I trust no one except my blood and Lord Almighty”
The Real Me
N***** you don’t know me
all you know me for is carrying them glocks
And emptying my clip
but you don’t know
I want to become an architect
all’s you remember
Is that summer day when I
Introduced you to the street life
Huh but you don’t remember
I told you to get a scholarship
Instead of money man don’t judge me
until you know the real me
I know why you think carryin’ a glock
Is the real me because I been locked
And that’s all you know about me
But remember the times I was
Gone.
I was taking courses to
Become an architect
so instead of building a gun
I could build a house
for the fam
It’s time to put the gun down
and pick the pen up
and empower myself
My Beliefs
Arm Leg Leg Arm Head is my belief
But does my incarceration neglect my belief
or does it make my faith strong?
Because I have a lot of days and night to think
But Arm Leg Leg Arm Head is my God which depicts my thought of change
But I was told Arm Leg Leg Arm Head is forgiving
Reentry
What can I say about reentry,
It’s like coming out the womb 4 the second time
it’s a new beginning
don’t really know where 2 start
cause it’s never easy
life is always hard
When it come 2 finding jobs or just getting your life together
I learned u got 2 put some people and things behind u 2 move forward
n order 2 advance u got 2 give yourself a chance
These streets a beast
It’s like a chess game
u the king that control your army
So u always make your next move your best move
got 2 pay attention and never snooze
cause n this game u will lose
2 a world that is cruel
so it all about how u move
Got 2 stay on you’re A game at all times
watch the company u keep
cause it will put u back n a place where u don’t want 2 b
so what can I say bout reentry
it’s about change