By AL
Yesterday, fear was my greatest enemy
Yet, today it’s a companion of mine
And since no man can foretell the future
Tomorrow we’ll see what we shall find
By AL
Yesterday, fear was my greatest enemy
Yet, today it’s a companion of mine
And since no man can foretell the future
Tomorrow we’ll see what we shall find
By CM
Push! With all your force and your might
Push! With all your strength, you must fight
Push! And pray to conquer the night
Push! And pray for peace when in plight.
Pull! And show no fear when you’re scared
Pull! Your burdens bound to be shared
Pull! Persistence shows that you care
Pull! Your family’s free ‘cause you bled.
Push! And use the wind on your back
Push! You have no time to relax
Push! Relief, it comes with a tax
Push! In time, the strife will retreat.
Pull! Its fields of hope that you till
Pull! Values instilled with your will
Pull! Slowly survive this ordered
Pull! There’s a pasture over the hill!
Reach beyond your grasp, you’ll surely gain more,
Pull away from your past and push yourself forward.
By AG
My potential is to be successful
To be a better father
To not be bothered what other people say about me
To always keep my mind free
Free of insecurities
Free to spread my wings
Free to sing
My potential is to be free
To be the Real Me
To work for a successful company
To pay bills to make ends meet
My potential is beyond what I now see
Prison cells and white concrete
To make it back to the streets
My potential is to be a normal American
To open doors to inner city kids
Suffering from poverty
That’s my potential
By TB
See you soon, old friend
When we grow to become men
We are family, my brother
That’ll never change
Goodbye, old me
We are better now
We shall grow
We are stars
No one can change that
By AC
Just past the horizon, I
will fly past the clouds
in my everlasting guest
to just once touch the sky.
Just past the horizon, I hope
to obtain these long dreamt of goals;
the ones for which I’m still fighting
and the ones for which I have fought.
Just past the horizon, I know
I can build the foundations for better days to come
something peaceful, something calm,
something slow.
Just past the horizon, I see
that the unwritten promise
of a much brighter future
is waiting for me.
Just past the horizon, I see
the possibilities of who and what I can be.
Just past the horizon, I’m waiting for
the correct doors to open
which will grant me passage
to tangible dreams and hopefully more.
Just past the horizon, I will
become a totally different person, yet still
hold on to the essence
of what makes living my life such a thrill.
Just past the horizon, I
will attempt to find the ever-evolving truth about my potential
in an effort to eliminate the fears and the doubts
which feed the self-loathing lies
that eat me inside.
The ones that could up my judgement
and keep holding me back
from getting more out of me,
from getting more out of life.
From getting something so simple
and yet so very profound:
Something like the ability to be walking around
with a soul full of joy
and a heart full of pride.
January 27, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Read and respond to poetry by incarcerated writers! Registration is required; click here to RSVP.
Free Minds uses books, creative writing, and peer support to awaken incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults to their own potential. Through creative expression, job readiness training, and violence prevention outreach, these poets achieve their education and career goals, and become powerful voices for change in the community.
Winner of the 2015 Aspen Ideas Award from the Aspen Institute, the Justice Potter Stewart Award from the Council for Court Excellence, and the Library of Congress Best Practices in Literacy Award.
United Way of the National Capital Area (UWNCA) #9633
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) # 75998
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Washington, DC 20009