Poems

Hey come on its goin be alright

Just take one puff

I guarantee if you hit this weed

your life won’t be so rough

Peer Pressure is like a drug

I know you see that car right there

deres no one in it, all you have to do is hop in

come on I won’t tell you nothing wrong

I am your friend

Peer Pressure is like a drug

come on aint nobody lookin

go ahead and snatch that lady purse

you goin get away

no one would get hurt

Peer Pressure is like a drug

once you get a dose of it

you will get addicted

or would you?

fictional rendition of a man’s loss of his son

It was a rainy day, not just rainy but a bad day as well
Matter of fact, it was the saddest and worst day of my life
Eyes closed, head down, black suit all soaked up with rain
Everything was moving so slow
My mind was empty except for anger and pain
I know I told you I’ll be there for you
Please forgive me my son
I had no idea my past would hunt you down instead of me
God, why him? Why not me? He was only ten
I quit the game, streets, hustlin, robbin
Tryin’ to be a real man
He was all I had, he didn’t do no wrong to nobody
But why?
He didn’t do anything to deserve a bullet in his forehead
If he was alive, he would’ve been playin’ football for some college
He used to love playing catch with his old man in the park
I told him I was gonna buy him a car when he turned 18
Now look at me, I’m trapped in these walls
Crying with pain every second of my life
Crying for my son ‘cause I miss him so bad
Crying for forgiveness
So when I die I could be in Heaven with my son
Please forgive me God, I know I had a choice to make
Now I’m doing life for a life ‘cause he had to die for my son

Just cause I’m from the streets
Does it mean I can’t make it?
Just because I don’t have money
Does it mean I should take it?
Cause I made mistakes
Does it mean I can’t be great?
Cause I want to succeed
Does that mean I’m fake?
The answer is No
Cause I will make it

I will succeed
And I’m not givin’ up
Until I do

Coming home to a whirlwind, and I’m trapped in the middle
Drugs, money and violence just to name a little
Scared to ask for help because I’m afraid of being denied
Thought I would find my own way, but I followed the wrong guide
With each step I took, I didn’t realize I was moving backwards
I wish my life was a movie and I was just the main actor
Instead of manning up and facing my fears
I cut all corners and made it my career
What will I do differently this time? I ask and I ask
Words aren’t nothing but letters put together–acting upon them is the real task
I figure I should tell on myself because I can never tell on anyone else
Maybe the right ears will hear this and I can find myself some help

It’s a new day for a new way
But I’m still stuck in my old ways
Why can’t I change, why do I stray?
Is not the question that I need today
When will I change is
But it’s hard to say
As my mind slips away
Bit by bit
I want to give up
I want to quit
But my will keeps pumpin’
My mind keeps running
And my heart keep thumpin’
It’s a new day for a new way

So far away from home

I’m just cold and alone

With no place to go

So far away from home

I take my mother’s phone

When I ran from home

I put a note on her bed

And she thought I was dead

So far away from home

Why it feels like life is like an elevator
It goes up, then it goes down
Sometimes it gets stuck
Like it is having its own technical problem
I wish I could fix it, why I couldn’t be like a mechanic
Guess I’m just a passenger, trying to be patient
Wish it was a race car, why it can’t start racing
Things in my mind won’t stop me from reminiscing
My thought feels like an anchor falling deeper and deeper
In the depth of my mind, it’s getting deeper than the ocean
Still waiting to move on forward
Why it feels like life is playing on slow motion

Locked away deep down inside
Is where my treasure lay
And my secrets hide
So dear, sacred to me it needs two locks
Not when the most sneaky could pick pock
I let my feelings collect dust there
Just so I won’t let ‘em show out here
The code to the vault is truth, however
I’m scared to unlock it
I wish my feelings, pain, and thoughts that’s in it
Could take off in a rocket
But it can’t so my secret storage will have to do
That’s how I deal with things, how bout you?
So when I have bad things happen or bad thoughts
It goes in the vault

My time locked up was a lesson learned
It really gave me a wake-up call to open my eyes
And look at the world different
I know sometimes when you’re locked up
It seems like no one cares and no one’s there
But you have to be strong
My time locked up
I’ve grabbed hold of all the knowledge I can get
To stay mentally stable
Because of these conditions we’re in
It can really damage the brain if you let it
I have always been told
Once you get caught up in the system
You will get lost in the system
Now, still this day I’m striving to make it out of this
system
So to all of my brothers that’s going through this
system with me
I just want to give a word of encouragement
To keep your head up

And always remember
It’s a way out
You just have to help yourself find that way

We wanted to share this card with you all, because it is your support that makes Free Minds a reality. The text reads:
“We really appreciate what you guys have done for us.
It really means a lot.
Thank you for keeping us strong, focused, and our mind independent.
Remember that you will always be in our free mind for Forever!! 🙂 ”

The two artists were careful to explain their illustration as well. “It’s like a metaphor, but with drawings,” they said. Here they have depicted a brain with a superhero cape (a Free Mind) beaming through a book to attain the ultimate goal of knowledge (portrayed here gleaming on a pedestal). Below, it has a flashlight and the words “U show us light!”

Dear Friends of Free Minds,

We were uploading poems this week and realized that this is our 100th post! In honor of this landmark, we wanted to take a second to give a shout out to all our poets and writers, readers and commentators, supporters and friends- everyone who has helped make this project happen.

The poetry blog grew out of a desire to build bridges across communities that are often kept separate. For many of the writers whose poetry appears here, it is the first time that they have been told that their voices matter. For many of the commentators who offer their positive feedback, it may be the first time they have seen young people in jail as writers with talent and unique perspectives. While both sides are anonymous to each other, we have been amazed at the power our small blog has to connect, educate, and inspire.

This Tuesday, we handed J, a 17 year old in DC jail, a piece of paper with feedback on his poem written by a volunteer in Massachusetts. He was delighted. “It makes me feel good to know that people like my work enough to write back,” he said. We talked for a while about how incredible it is that there is an international group of people committed to hearing and supporting the positive voices of the Free Minds young poets, and then asked if he had anything he wanted to share on this 100th post. He considered carefully, and then said:

“Thank you for letting me know that somebody is acknowledging my words, and taking the time to read the writing of young incarcerated people.”

When we deliver that piece of paper with your thoughtful feedback, comments, and encouragement, it is concrete evidence of a community support, of a network of people that believe in these young people’s ability to change, envision greater possibility, and write new chapters in their lives. It is hard to overstate the impact that this has.

So keep those comments coming!

With gratitude,
The Free Minds team

You told me,
“I’ll hold you down, I got your back, I’ll be here until the end”
“No matter what, thru thick and thin, I’ll always be your friend”
“When times get rough and things go bad, you can always count on me”
“Just trust my word, have some faith, and my promises I will keep”

But you let me down, you left be hanging, I thought you were my friend.
Thru thick and thin, no matter what, I thought you’d be here until the end…
When things went bad, and times got rough, I really counted on you,
I trusted your word, had faith and your promises never came true…

Then you told me,
“If ever you’re lost, just call and I’ll guide you thru the maze”
“My love and support will always be here, every single day”
“And when there’s danger have no fear, I’ll never leave you stranded”
“Whenever you need me, I’ll be right here, you’ll never feel abandoned”

But I called when I got lost and you didn’t even answer,
Your deceiving and deceitful ways are killing slow like cancer…
You left me stranded, I feel abandoned, every single day,
What did I do to deserve those lies? Why was I betrayed…