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.
What I Would Have Done Differently
“Where you goin bro?”
“Don’t worry I’ll be back soon.”
“But you don’t want to get your a** whipped in this madness.”
“Naw bro I’m gonna be back to get you.”
Celebrities
One thing I learned about celebrities
They always think that they are better than me
That because the money they have
They believe it’s a melody
Even though we all are the same
Except some are celebrities
Lies
When I look in a girl’s eyes
I can feel her lies
And sometimes a girl lies
Make a man really want to cry
and I’m like why?
A girl’s lies make some good men
who love them feel he’s not nothing
and now he wants to die
from knowing about her lies
Ma You Told Me
Ma you told me don’t be dumb
Ma you told me to go to school
Ma you told me don’t get locked up
Ma you said do what I got to do
That’s why I love you Ma
Now I’m locked up thinking about what you said
What you told me not to do
And I didn’t listen
Because I’m locked up Ma
And I didn’t do s***
Ma I like to see you smile not cry
Ma that f***** up I got you going
Back and forth to court
Ma you told me I’m not no bad son
Ma you know when I come home I’m not coming back here
Ma I do not want to sit over 1901 no more
Ma all I do while I’m in here is think about all the
S*** you told me
Ma I know you missing days off from work
Ma you told me about my dumb ass friend
Ma that’s why I love you
Ma you always told me some good s***
Ma you told me I could be something in life
Ma you told me you want me to do right
But Ma take me by my word
That I’m going to do right
Ma you told me to do all the good and not the bad
Ma you told me you do not want to see me locked up
Ma you told me
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