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.
Mama
Fears explode from her eyes
As the bullets explode from an AK47
Looks of disbelief find their way to her eyes
As she watches her firstborn son
Being taken away by the streets
She tries to warn him
But she doesn’t get through
And now he like “Ma, I should have listened to you,
Because the streets got me arrested
And you just wanted me to go to school”
She says “Don’t blame the streets, son
The one who got arrested was you”
Lies
People tell lies
I never know why
But I don’t care
Because I’m never gonna cry
I look in the sky
Lies go so high
But they can fall
And hurt
A lot
Think of Me
Think of me
When you are about to cry
And I guarantee things will be alright
All you got to do
Is think of me
And where our love is going to be
Hoping Pt 2
God must have had me in his will
Because he brought you to me today
But I can’t believe we had to walk away
If I could, I would have left with you
But I guess I can’t, but I wish I could have
Before I put this pen to rest
And close this journal
I want to say
Even though you can’t read my mind
And here what I’m trying to say
I love you
And loved seeing you today
See you soon
Untitled (Sometimes)
Sometimes I laugh
Sometimes I cry
Sometimes I’m mad
Sometimes I’m fine
I guess the mood swings
Is because of the time
They can lock my body
But can’t put chains on my mind
Jail
Have you ever seen something close
and thought it would never open?
Have you felt unwanted like an outsider?
Have you ever felt something close in on you but it never moves?
Have you ever been smothered to death
but can breathe freely?
Well if you haven’t
you’ve never been to prison.
What If
What if I went to school and did what I had to do?
What if I come home and got a job?
What if I hadn’t gotten locked up- what would I be doing at home?
What if I could make a big change?
What if I could tell people that jail is not a place to be?
What if I could be something real big in life?
What if I can come home and make money by writing poems?
What if someone come to me and say, “I like your poems”?
What if I could put a smile on everyone’s face when they read my poems?
What if I can go somewhere from my poems?
What if I could write a book for everyone to read?
What if lawyers come up here and tell me I’m going home?
What if the people in court can see that I’m not a bad person?
What if I tell people that this is coming from my heart?
What if I tell people that me being locked up hurts my mom and aunt?
What if someone read my poem, and they tell me that they want to help me get my poems out there so everyone could read them?
All I can say is what if.
Self Destruct
This message will self destruct in 5,4,3,2,1,
That all I been down all my life
destroying my self
making bad decisions all my life
want some weed?
yea sure
wanna start a fight?
yea sure
just the count down to my destruction
Wisdom
Is it strange that 90% of humans
see the wisdom
and promises of life
and don’t acknowledge it?
They don’t reach for the goal
that is dull
yet worth more
They reach for the shiny
worthless gold the kind
that doesn’t promise to love, care, heal
They want the money, sex, drugs,
and worthless life gold
Is it strange that they don’t look inside themselves?
and get something that is truly worth something
If You Only Knew
I know it’s time you wonder if what I say is real
It’s not manipulation it’s just simply how I feel
I know in your mind you say “this one too good to be true”
I shock MYSELF sometimes if you only knew
Some things might take time but with kindness you’ll let it flow
As the days go by and time pass, if it’s genuine we both will know
I love everything about you it’s just something about that face of yours
I know it’s not a dream but maybe an Angel in disguise
whatever it is I love it & deep down I know you do too
I don’t ever want this bond to end
Broken Promises
I have broken many promises
and have ruined peoples lives
Never met my emotions
or just ain’t take time to say hi
The promises I made may all seem like lies
When I’m down no ones around
but when I’m up they are like flies
broken promises can be repaired
once I’m finished with this time
Love
Do you know what it is
when love becomes more then a word?
Do you know how it feels
that every word you ever told and said
even think of
can’t explain that feeling you have
that you want to say so badly?
Do you know that
love is not only a word
not only a feeling
but more?
Do you know I am in love with you?