Temptation

By DJ

Struggling to pay rent
Long nights but fast days
Stressing just thinking
I could get a couple grand
Off a couple grams
Temptation, damn
Stuck in my daydream of making a living off a life of crime
Forgetting about the consequences and possible jail time
But that won’t happen to me
That’s what she told me
You’re too slick
You move too quick
Is what temptation told me
But what she didn’t tell me is prisons are filled with people
All race and backgrounds who listened to temptation
I was tempted not to write this
But I just hope my mistakes could be an eye opener for someone

 

 

5 Comments

  1. Dory on July 22, 2013 at 5:14 PM

    Great thoughts, DJ. I hope you follow through as you will be an inspiration to others. When other young people see what you have gone through AND overcome, hopefully eyes will be opened.

  2. pam on July 24, 2013 at 10:14 AM

    DJ, Your writing has a great sense of rhythm and rhyme! Thank you for sharing this. As an English teacher, mother of a son who is incarcerated, and as a writer myself, I want to encourage you to continue to write–and continue to be a thoughtful person. Damn that temptation.

  3. Sarah on July 29, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    Who in this world hasn´t been tempted to do something they knew could get them in trouble? I can certainly relate to daydreaming about taking shortcuts and making things easier, but in the end I usually realize that they´re not realistic– just like you have in this poem. I especially like your personification of Temptation and having her speak to you. It´s sort of like having a devil on your shoulder whispering things to you. You just have to tell him to shut up!

  4. EmaBeesArt on August 2, 2013 at 1:46 PM

    DJ, great poem, thanks for sharing! I really like your alliteration and rhyming in this sequence here, how the last words in the lines transform into each other with the beginning and ending sounds:
    “I could get a couple grand
    Off a couple grams
    Temptation, damn”
    I also like you personify temptation, and how that allows you to almost have a conversation with her, and you can have a dialogue and it gives you control to listen or not listen. I am so glad you listened to your heart and not your temptation and wrote this poem. Thank you, and please keep writing, I want to read more! – Emily

  5. Joan on August 16, 2013 at 10:25 PM

    Dear DJ – Thank you so much for sharing. I am sending to a young man who is currently waiting sentencing — in Jail. He has found the poems that you guys have written to be so inspirational, he has been hand copying them for his brother and sister — both of whom are in danger of going down the wrong path.

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The poets featured here 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. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. 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.