Prisoner Express

Poetry Anthology

April 2008 Vo l u me Two [1] Thank you to the following contributors….

Charles V. Anderson [page 2] Thee Baldhead Blackman [30] Theresa Battles [10] Thee Gracious Poet [20] Eric Bederson [16] Earl E. Thomas [28] Synthia China Blast [8] Jonathan Thompson [2, 3, 19, 24] E. Byh [14] TMC (The Mexican Connection) [26] Charles Cameron [7] Unknown [23] Joseph Angel Cano [11, 12] Reginald West [5] William Chaplar [13, 19] Ruben Wilson [25] Dana “Y’ungblood” Crawford [17, 29] Ben Winter [3] John E. Christ [12] …and to everyone who sent in their poems! Carlos Contreras [22] Gilbert M. Davila [17] Copyright notice: All works belong to their Tomieko N. Davis [16] original creators and have been republished Brandon Jamal Dixon Sr. [5] by Prisoner Express with the express Leroy Floyd II [15] permission of the creators. Please do not Brandon Lee Garvin [5] reproduce anything in this book without Gary Gilbert [24, 26] getting permission, in writing, from the Ronnie Gurganus [4] Deanna James [7] artist. Willie Jenkins [2] Prisoner Express can provide Chester Jones [24] the address of anyone Reginald Jones [22] published here you Chermon Kennemur [11] may want to Theodore Leslie [28] write to. Jorge Lira [10] Francisco J. Lopez [18] Christopher Manthei [29] James Meier [6, 25, 27, 29] Miami [9] CF Murdoch [9] Juan Ochoa [15] Shane P. [19] Bryan Page [8, 18] Ricky Pearson [15, 28] Pablo J.Ponce [30] Chief J. Ramos [17, 25] The Rooster [27] Joe Evans Santoya [6] Marcus Shedd [16] J.S. Slaymaker 5, 12, 28, 29] David Snyder [10, 11, 14] Armando Solis [30] Jackey R. Sollars [3, 18] Starkim [2] Tommy Ray Steele [7] Eric Michael Street [2, 13, 14] Talib [22] Anwar Tapia [24] [2] Buddhist Prayer for Peace this book, the pages became my blanket, the words Willie Jenkins warm and gentle. Imagine thinking of yourself, what would you remember? May all beings everywhere The aggression that I held was for my purification plagued with suffering of body and mind washing with my own blood, I held on for dear life, quickly be freed from their illnesses. clutching on to my sanity. An explosion of my thoughts May those frightened cease to be afraid, brought forth a change in my realm of relativity. I and may those bound be free. regained my relevance. I hear the song of reassurance, it May the powerless find power, and may increased my endurance, I felt the rush coming over me. people think of befriending one another. Slowly it felt like the softest fabrics, clothe me, console May those who find themselves in trackless, my spirit, make time move faster, free me from my fearful wilderness: the children, the aged, enemies that hold me captive against my will. the unprotected, Be guarded by beneficial celestials. A Letter to God And may they swiftly attain brotherhood. Jonathan Thompson dedicated to Dr. Maya Angelou Unicycle Eric Michael Street I understand that it all starts with me So I ask for wisdom as I bend my knees We look at Nature and Lord I give my battle up for you to fight Our nature is to classify And I open my heart to your guiding light To satisfy some drive to Draw lines between such Father you've brought me through the storm Things as cannot be divided then But still my life is far from the norm If we minded our surroundings So I keep praising, for you have saved me They’re abounding with ample And promised to love me for all eternity Obvious examples of how things Such as a plow are simple You have given me another chance to live Holy symbols of the unity And my broken spirit you have healed And infinity of Birth So in return I will sacrifice to save another To Rebirth for Life And share your glory with my sisters and brothers Is rife with Death and Each last breath is our first As long as I am here On earth. I will be used And as long as you shine down on me Realm I will give all praises to you Starkim Stream of Life How did I leave without moving? They sold me to Charles V. Anderson the state that raped my community, I just wanted a slice of the moon and sprinkle stars all over it, plus taste the Life is like riding down the river, Earth’s crust. I stood still, the only thing that moved Listening to Mark Twain, as the banjo was my thoughts. My soul frozen. plays on. As I see the swamp bird rise Take away sound and think out loud rest your ideas from the water's edge; as the mosquito in a volcano, creating erupts. Headaches of reality. I bites my neck, I see the alligator opened my mouth to yawn, bored by my pondering. I watching through the moss like life questioned my existence and held my breath tasting the waiting to take another bite out of time. lust in my heart. Drenched in my own filth, I nearly I find myself following this stream drowned in affliction. Regurgitate my weakness in this searching for an end in the water's depth. realm, it rained lava, acid rivers, I cried chemicals. Sinking until I'm gone and I find myself old Flowers died the hour lied, time was wrong. Words of and know life will continuously flow winter fall then spring back up because I miss summer down this stream of life. some her. I slept in placenta before I could remember, I laid in [3] My Revelation Today Is Thy Only Kingdom Ben Winter Jackey R. Sollars

Do I dare compare myself to the desert prophets of old Today is thy only kingdom, Were Mohamed and Moses as tortured as I A minutia of life. In this desert of the mind and soul To get all wrongs right Marching to thy own beating drum, Mirages of hope dancing before tearful eyes Seize this opportunity! A promised land of nowhere and nothing Flip the bull by its horns. A myth, a dream and a lie too many time told Dance with all the storms. Too many times believed to be Become what thou ought to be. The truth absolute Cast fear upon a gale wind. By simple hoping fools Muster courage, strength, achieve victory For many the trials as well as the enemy. And I wonder… Testing thy faith’s compassion, Where is my revelation supposed to be Blessing the thy peace and wisdom Where is my virgin statue weeping blood For today is your only kingdom. My Lazarus, my manna from heaven, my water to wine My arise and walk through parted Red Seas What Was, And What Is For I have delivered thee! Jonathan Thompson

If isolation leads to enlightenment I have seen smiles and peace on rainy days I should be the wisest being And I've felt shame and pain in many ways A laughing Budda, a Soloman, a Confucian sage I've come from nothing to become someone on this earth A Socrates or a Plato And I've seen goody two-shoes fall from grace to less Whose wisdom echoes throughout the ages than dirt Lingering in the minds of countless generations I would build a world of philosophic glory I've seen those thought to be dumb learn in society And I've seen educated people fall to stupidity And still I wonder… I've seen love over-ride hate in the hearts of men Where is my revelation supposed to be And I've seen hate for men in the eyes of women What mystic truth will solitude reveal to me What god or goddess will appear to me I've seen the weak make a stand and become strong Through clouds through visions, through angels And I've seen the strong break down and do wrong Through burning bushes of hallelujah chorus I've seen the forgotten remembered by their past lovers And brazen trumpet fare And I've seen the unbreakable bond crash between two To share with me what it’s all about brothers

But I guess I’m too full of doubt I've been through hardships but I have a better day in To believe in distant desert mirages sight And any angel I’ve seen I only pray that I'm blessed to make it through the night Must have been a dream And there will always love, hate, smiles and tears, I'm Must have been my mind hallucinating and playing your witness tricks And no matter how we live it, life will always be what was and what is Anything I cannot enclose with my mind is fable, False, illusion, error, a lie, a grave mistake of some kind And even though I’ve tried so hard to find them I dismiss the miracles I’ve seen

Left to wonder once again Where is my revelation supposed to be

[4] Penitents Ronnie Gurganus

Shortened spires Trimmed in white A thousand moving minarets Clouds of dust meet waves of heat Beneath the solemn druid feet As they circumambulate Like Muslims at Medina

Mendicants and proselytes Forced to worship reverently At the State’s unseemly mosque Of incapacitation

Minatory elocution Builds redoubts of retribution Zealots of authority Construct cloisters of control

Arrayed all the same With like minds and like colors Sit promethean vultures Disaffected and cruel

Under the big top The psychotic, sad circus Humanity reduced Arenas of power To obsequious syllables For the empathically challenged Truncated horizons Lives interrupted Where pageants of time Loves left to die Parade lazily by Sublimation of legal misery Habitués of urban fen Played out in courts Become monastic denizens And on tv Brothers; blood-kin Legislators, cops and judges Tied by suffering Self-appointed And by guilt Vanguard of morality Circumstance adduced And in some fine Amid new cries and fancy way And forlorn walls Immolation is redeeming Of justice— And they find Somewhat delayed The martyrs swinging Safe passage bid As we cut them down

So someday may My soul return When wiser heads Learn to prevail To fiddle while Old Texas burns [5] Each One Teach One Our Divinity Brandon Jamal Dixon Sr. Brandon Lee Garvin

The more you learn, Could it be our destiny to live, or is it all a dream... The wiser you become. Should it really be our faith to give, or are there souls we can't redeem? The wiser you become, Truth in falsehoods lyes within, the Hands of Time The more you have experienced. Refuse Free Will is Liberal Paradox, yet this is what we choose The more you have experienced, Believe me when I tell you that, we breathe this Life too The more you have to share. fast Deceiving as it may seem to us, the future presents its The more you have to share, past The more opportunities you have to enlighten others. Existence thrives on Memories, Immortality stays true to heart The more opportunities you have to enlighten others, This Dance goes on for Eternity, Music lyes within the The fewer mistakes they tend to make. Art Signs of silence beckoning to you, listen to their Calls The fewer mistakes they tend to make, We question with such intensity, which caused our The more options they will have. Guiding Falls... The Messengers make it clear to all, “Ask and you shall The more options they will have, receive.” The more they are taught. So look deep within the Pyramid's walls, Divinity's ours to retrieve! The more they are taught, The more they learn. Anyway Reginald West Vetus Error J.S. Slaymaker People are unreasonable, illogical and self centered. Love them anyway... Poisonous spider, vampires and trolls, If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior lurking beneath the bridge of our souls. motives. Demons and evils, monsters and fiends, Do good anyway... pit us to the maiden, cross and guillotine. If you are successful, you win false friends and true The Blood of the Lamb upon our doorpost.... enemies. Succeed anyway... Satyrs and players, users and more, The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. all of genus psychic carnivore. Do good anyway... Black orgies of ladies with lovers renound, Honest-and-frankness make you vulnerable. desire in the darkness devoid of a sound. Be honest-n-frank anyway... Lord Jesus and Mary, the heavenly host. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Allergic disorders and skin disease, Build anyway... heart failure, thrombosis, and warts if you please. People need help but may attack you if you help them. Brain tumours, ulcers and Cupid's itch, Help people anyway... if not one thing another, ain't life a bitch! Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in St. Vitus protect us to the utmost... the teeth. Give the world the best you've got anyway... A young Gypsy woman-child almost virginal with a hunger burning almost cannibal. Ghost dancers and glamour, dark mystical charms, she read mystic visions in my tattooed arms. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. [6] A Maiden's Tear So comes the final chapter James Meier The turning of life's page And no more sweet voice It's an Indian maiden's love song Whispers through the sage. Whispered through mesquite and through sage She sings of her beloved warrior Tears in My Eyes And the reasons for his anger and his rage Joe Evans Santoya

She tells of the many time How many days will I sit and cry He has held her fragile hand Thinking of my nina And played the pipe he made She died when she was nine Outside the tipi of their little band She was one that I loved She sings proudly of the bride price One of the one’s that I had He said he would gladly pay Mija If you hear me, But then of the white man's coming this one’s from your Dad. Men in blue who took him away Paso mis dias She sings of the longing Feeling all alone Of her heart emptied and frayed Pidiendo le a dosito Of years spent in strange lands why he took you And the terrible price she'd paid home.

Her sweet voice wavers I remember the day Across prairies dotted with sage When I heard your first cry Her shoulders now cruelly bent It touched my Corazon Sweet face wrinkled with age To have you by my side.

She sings now of his waiting But today is the day I find tears in my Eye’s, On distant shores she can see Even my Corazon has become She tells of the end to her journey paralyzed. And her longing to be set free Mija, I love you Bitter tears have tracked the cheeks And I’m sorry I wasn’t there With memory of endless years But I want you to Know Those endured without him That your Jefito really cared The wasting of those tears Tears In My Eyes will always be there Her aged face is raised now And the thoughts To Great Spirit in the sky of you Mija Forgotten now the prairies And all that we shared Her soul readied now to fly Forgiveness I ask for leaving To her beloved warrior you alone crying and praying for Who's waited through the years Daddy to come home Heard her many prayers Seen her wasted tears So I’m writing this poem To remind me of you, Tears In My Eyes Now man no longer stands Mija, your Jefito loves you. To keep the two apart Soon there'll be a mending For the maiden's troubled heart

[7] Why Me? Of Moth and Flame Deanna James Charles Cameron

Here I am in this room, all alone. Oh so cold. I see a pretty girl in a booth in the corner of the room. Everything blue, gray, and white; dusty, rusty and old… People speaking softly. The mirror is metal, distorting my reflection. She doesn't seem to be expecting any company. Reminding me daily of my dereliction. Sitting alone. Cold cup of coffee. Pick out my own clothes? Those days are gone, She stares at the candle on the center of the table. A set of State Blues is what I have on. A scar of a smile on her face. The women in here, the misfits of life. She studies the flame closely, No happy tales, only tales of strife. Considers it as a botanist would a flower in a vase. The guards seem to have lost any trace of compassion. She knows all about the fire: They feel we’re just suffering the consequences of our What it eats, from where it came. actions She knows what makes it happy; And maybe they’re right to a certain extent. She remembers the taste of the flame. I just hope they realize how easily it could be them. She believes that they have a lot in common: I too had a good life, once upon a time. Never satisfied, forever wanting... When I was following His will, and not mine… Always needing more oxygen. I used to complain about silly little things; Destroy everything they touch - The kids tracking in dirt, coming back from the swings, Everything they fall in love. Corey and Colby screaming and fighting each other. The fire turns it to ashes... All part of the joys of being a mother… Her tears turn it all to mud. The cooking the cleaning, the job for which I had a She recalls the very first time she met the fire, knack, When it burned her paper heart to ashes. What I wouldn’t give to have it all back… It left her naked and alone. I’d give anything for just a hug and a kiss. Blue eyes. Black lashes. To play Simon Says, watch Sponge Bob Square Pants. I could see she was tired of life, But I gave it all up, tossed it all down the drain, Tire of the pain and all the games. What was I thinking, I must’ve been insane. And just as I was about to say to her I let drugs carry me down the fast road to destruction. Everything would be okay... With little hope now of any reconstruction. She looked me in the eye, lifted her wings, I participated in taking the life of another, And then she burst into flames. My life and others, thrown in the gutter. It sounds really bad, and trust me it is, Little Fingerprints on the Glass But anyone out there could end up like this… Tommy Ray Steele Pop the wrong pill, take a hit of the wrong rock, And I could be greeting you in the next cell block. One day while wiping down the tables in the visiting When I’m alone, and all I can do is cry, room at the French Robertson Unit in Abiline, Texas, I I ask God “Why couldn’t it have been me that died?” noticed little fingerprints on the glass. Then I noticed a He answers in that still gentle voice… man's handprint on the other side of the glass “Because Deanna, that was my choice. overlapping the little fingerprints. And I hear the little I have plans for you, things you must do. fingerprints say... People who need to hear all that you’ve been through” So you see, man says I have 28 years, “Daddy, will you hold my hand? But He says “daughter, dry your tears…” I sure do miss you, Daddy. “If you remain faithful, I promise you will see… Please don't cry, Daddy. Your family restored, your life renewed, I wish I could wipe away your tears. Your blessings will be many, not just a few… Don’t worry about your sons, they’re in good hands, “I read your poems in school the other day, Daddy. Just like I take care of you, I’ll take care of them…” All the other kids said, 'Oh he sure does have a good That’s all I have now, the hope I hold on to, Dad.' That my God, will carry me through… I just laughed with all the girls and boys. I didn't tell them you were in jail. I was scared, but then I cried. [8] I'm sorry, Daddy. this prison cell. I think of my prison hell. Sometimes I really get so low that I want to end it all. “I went to the park yesterday It's tough being a transsexual. Life has never been and flew my kite, Daddy. fair. I wish I was a woman so I wouldn't feel such I watched all the little boys fly their despair. kite with their daddy. You would have been real proud of me, Daddy. The Country Song You'll Never Hear on the Radio My kite went the highest, as high as the moon! Bryan Page Well, I pretended it did. I couldn't tie the tail on right. Sometimes the world is a hard place I tried real hard, Daddy, really I did. And sometimes the facts are hard to face Life ain't always easy “Mom, why is Daddy crying? I wasn't bad, was I? and sometimes it's no fun I promise to come see you next Sunday, Daddy. but I'm still hanging in there And Daddy, please hurry up and come home. I'm not done Mommy needs you too. You're my Daddy and I love you thisssss much.” There's got to be more to this life than a prison cell but I can't tell Then I wiped away the little fingerprints, There's got to be more to this life and I wiped away my tears. than this heart break - it's all I can take Tried not to think of all the pain There's got to be more to this life I'll cause being away so many years. than hurt and pain, am I insane? You see, the man's handprint on the glass was mine. and I'm not done I'm locked up in this cold and lonely prison doing my time. I want to know what it's like And someday when I'm finally released at last to live clean and free I'll never again have to wipe away To be happy as can be - can it happen to me? little fingerprints on the glass. I want to tuck in my kids and make love to my wife (from my heart) Yes, that's the life, the kind I'd like I'd like to break the chains of alcohol and meth It's Tough To Be Transgendered Yep, that's what I said - come back from the dead. Synthia China Blast hold my wife's hand again, as we pray by the bed find peace inside my head It's tough to be a transgendered woman in prison. No and I'm not done. one really knows what the pressure is like. I awake every morning and, stare in a mirror, longing to There's got to be more to this life feel beautiful, yearning not to be viewed disgraceful. than a prison cell but I can't tell My friends seem to like me. If I follow up with their There's got to be more to this life dares. than this heart break - it's all I can take If I am not willing to sexually satisfy them, they act like There's got to be more to this life they really don't care. than hurt and pain, am I insane? I walk around in a daze. In a prison complex that is and I'm not done made to keep us in a maze. No one really likes me. But everyone seems to want to wife me. I thought about taking drugs. I even attempted self- castration. I feel as if I am fading, into a light that keeps me waiting. I am a transgender. My life is spent around men. If one of them wants to date me, they don't ask they just try and rape me. I fear the being taken, to a place that I fear if I awaken. I fear being taken, to a place that is forsaken. I look at [9] Wasted Time Lisa Miami CF Murdoch

The time that I've wasted is my biggest regret, Author’s Note: Lisa Steinburg was a 10 year old child in Spent in these places I will never forget. NYC who was a victim of horrible child abuse and who Just sitting and thinking about the things that I've done, was murdered by her stepfather in the late 1980s. The the crying, the laughing the hurt and the fun. story was heartbreaking and I wrote this poem for her Now it's just me and my hard-driven guilt and for all children who may be trapped into such an behind a Wall of emptiness I allowed to be built. environment. Lisa's tragedy did NOT have to occur I'm trapped in my body, just wanting to run because her school teachers as well as her neighbors back to my youth with its laughter and fun. knew that the child was being hurt, yet no one helped to But the chase is over and there's no place to hide. save her. Everything is gone including my pride. With reality suddenly right in my face Past my heart's window...comes a weeping wind I'm scared Alone and stuck in this place. Her tiny voice heard at the edge of a night's end Now memories of the past flash through my head, Small precious child who we shall never know and the pain is obvious by the tears that I shed. A lost little soul who lived a nightmare of woe I've asked myself why and where I went wrong, I guess I was weak when I should of been strong. Little Lisa the girl who weeps in the night Living for the drugs and the wings I had grown, How the days for you must have been such a fright My feelings were lost, afraid to be shown. The nights you spent weeping in fear of the day As I look at my past its so easy to see Never given a choice for life in love's way the fear that I had, afraid to be me. I'd pretend to be rugged so fast and so cool, I ask night's embrace of the love that we send When actually lost like a blinded old fool. To Lisa...who's gliding on currents of wind I'm getting to old for the tiresome game Ever in heart does the wind leave its mark of acting real hard with no sense of shame. Holding little Lisa who weeps in the dark. It’s time that I change and get on with my life fulfilling my dreams for a family and wife. What my future will hold I really don't know, but the years that I've Wasted are starting to show. I just live for the day when I'll get a new start and the dreams I still hold deep in my heart. I hope I can make it, I at least have to try because I'm heading toward Death and I don't want to DIE! [10] Freedom Made Me Prison Raised Me... Unintelligent? Good prisoner. Theresa Battles Good prisoner. Here's a treat. Data by prisoner? Bad. Freedom presented me the opportunity Information by prisoner? Bad. to learn but I didn't take advantage Survey by prisoner? Bad. Prison raised me to think, speak, Data, information and survey by non-prisoner? Good. learn, and not be afraid to reach Data, information and survey by advocates? Bad. Good prisoner? Bad prisoner? Ooops, "inmate?" Freedom made me self-destruct and shun the pain I felt inside In Dreams Prison raised me to realize through Jorge Lira it all I was given the strength to survive Author's Note: This is an expression of how one wakes up to the same place and to the same surroundings, day Freedom snatched my innocence, swallowed in, and day out, while being incarcerated. You dream up by the streets your life away, yet face reality once that first ray of Prison raised me to re-evaluate and sunshine awakens you in the morning. reclaim my life than to live life on life's term A passage of time, with a mind of its own; Freedom brought about peer pressure a glimpse of eternity, that I surrendered to costing me everything or thoughts you’ve outgrown. Prison raised me to not be pressured but to embrace all lessons and then have the It’s deep in your mind, ability to make my own choices the place none can see; Holding all secrets, Freedom sometimes make you take life for as time is set free. granted and ignoring all the goodness that it brings Of its realm you will seek, Prison raised me to squeeze appreciation those moments of past; tightly asking for one more change to be free. Some feelings of present, a future forecast. The Good Prisoner David Snyder At times, a hero be born, or a villain be slain; Silence? Good prisoner. The great voyage of time, Speech? Bad prisoner. yet never the same. Model versus advocate and political. Seen? Good prisoner. Could be a time of fulfillment, Heard? Bad prisoner. or torturous event; Shadow versus real. Leaving a soul full of joy, or a heart that is spent. Incompetence is... good. Ignorance is... good. And as you come to, Negligence is... good. reality will set in; Prisoner awareness is... bad!! You’ll look at these walls, knowing it was only a dream… Hear no evil (prisoner). See no evil (prisoner). Speak no evil (prisoner). Monkey see, Monkey do, prisoner. Uneducated? Good prisoner. [11] Just Passing Time The Prison Within the Prisoner Joseph Angel Cano David Snyder

As I sit and glance at the stars. “...Give me your tired and poor...” I begin to write of my past, thinking of how I became a victim of circumstance. So many different walls. When I was young I lived a street soldiers life, Personal. Watching my homies die by drugs, guns and knives. Emotional. I would always say, “it’ll get better then this,” Mental. not knowing if I’ll be arrested or next on the mortician’s Society. list. Culture. I would always step back and try to get out Sex. the gang bangin, but there would always be people Age. who would be constantly hatin. Race. I’ve come to relize how my teenage years had gone Concrete. Electric fences. Barbwire. Gun towers. to waste, prison isn’t the place… Metal detectors. Security cameras. Lockdown. Strip When I exit here my mentality will be different then cell. Shackles. Searches. Frisks. Escorts. when I came. I have learned to much prison corruption never will The ironic. be the same. A homeless person. So as you sit and gaze at the stars hoping your A tired and poor. wishes come true, remember there’s a young man They have more freedom, behind these bars doing the same as you… yet, far less than most. Even a prisoner. My Blue Never Fades They have the one thing Chermon Kennemur we don't. Freedom. As the day brings on this rain They are alive. and my thoughts extend my pain Prisoners just “live.” I can't see so clearly through this fog and haze How many prisoners The end of my troubles are so willing will meet the end of my days to live out of a shopping cart, and I will find out that sift garbage, my color of blue never fades sleep in a cardboard box These whispers have cried just to have the freedoms the deafening truth the homeless have. I scream at these demons for stealing my youth Is a soup kitchen bad? Nothing comes out, but in the back Is a halfway house or shelter bad? of my mind the devil resides Are Salvation Army clothes bad? So I'm overwhelmed by the color Is being scorned as homeless worse than glowing inside scorned as an ex-con? I tore out this heart of mine Pity versus scorn. and replaced it with blue Would you and this is the reason give up pride, I do what I do. to have pity over scorn? Which would you choose?

Faceless, nameless as a forgotten homeless but free OR Faceless, nameless as a scorned, spit upon ex-convict and never free inside or outside walls? [12] It is said, “You are your own worst enemy.” that I’m having fun. Concrete walls are for the enemy of society. My dreams seem so real and tears on my face waking Shanks are for the enemy of prison. up to the state as my dream fades away. Prisons are for the discarded problems of society. Bars on Windows, glass and phones not having any privacy A prisoner has one retreat to save themselves. with the ones you love… The mind. Leaving them hurting on the way to the door, that’s the life That too is a prison. of a convict and pray never to return on a ride to the A prison made and built by the prisoner again. Dark side…

Prison within the prisoner. Imperium

J.S. Slaymaker We hide.

Our skin is the wall. Arranging my knights, my bishop and king, Our eyes are the cameras. my pawns and my rook to capture your queen. Our fists are the gun towers. The beat of my steed's steel hooves thundering, Our words are the shanks. upon her I ride, my route unforeseen. Our fear is the protection. My approach bold with my sword brandishing,

a swing of my blade and her head comes off clean. If you look, Your kingdom captured is my ultimate goal. out of the corner of your eye, For those who resist, their heads too will roll. quick and fast, in a flash, Ode to a Utensil for a moment you'll see a prisoner cry. John E. Christ

In a prisoner there is nowhere The food on my tray to hide, no escape Below my nose except one. Beckons forth an appetite Travel inward. With hands forbid Go inside. Nor inhale I not The prison within the prisoner. In times long past Inside the mind. A spoon I held

Of steel or silver made Dark Side Opposite at arms Joseph Angel Cano With sharp long tines

A for served as well Perhaps I was addicted to the dark side. In their place Please Lord forgive me for my life of sin. Of plastic made Ain’t flashed a smile in a long while. Tines and bowl as one A life of crime just another sinner caught up in the I now with one mix… A free hand have I’m seeing it clearer hating the picture in the mirror To pass my drink to lips Waking up sweating I’m living in fear of a felon In other have I my tool Coast to Coast, lonely roads, God only knows. To scoop, shovel, stab Some see me stranded in this world of hell, jail and Hoisting food to my mouth crack cells. Hail to thee

As I eat my pork In the eyes of a convict I shed no tears Who art thou? Looking at all my wasted years. Thou art my friend the spork! I’m only a number in the eyes of the state Lost my right for doing wrong I blink my eyes and it hit me strong Talent and young surrounded by convicts pretending

[13]

Post Modern Poet's Blues Flawless English? Eric Michael Street William Chaplar

I want to write a poem of love but, If the English language was indeed one without flaws, Damn, it's all been done to death, hey, In-laws—once the divorce was final—would become outlaws. Death can be my chosen topic... There'd be a whole new way for us to spell words such as sleigh. No, no, it has been passed along the way, so And none would be confused when they looked at the word Sorry, what about a poem of Sorrow, or croquet. Would I need to borrow phrases used in Inflammable and flammable would sure not mean the same. Days of yore? Yesterday has been abused; And words like claim would doubtless look a little more like Today is gone & tomorrow isn't here, oh fame. Dear, maybe sex can be my affair, of Weight and height assuredly would not have different sounds. Course, who has failed to use that one? And wounds would almost surely no be spelled the same as Anger, joy, Nature, all undone, law rounds. Or chaos, loneliness, I despair the way It's doubtful that hyperbole would end the same as role. All the things have been expressed And you could bet it wouldn't look like it should rhyme with And pressed into cliched interpretation pole. I guess I'm stuck with blank pages. There's no way that epitome would end the same as Hey! It can be a new abstract poetry... gnome. And likely neither one of them would sound the same as comb. Straight, given all those letters, would sound longer than ado. By no means would segue look like it ought to rhyme with queue. Progress and Congress definitely would be opposites. And words like blitz would probably be spelled the same as pits. Yes, flawless in language is a thing that cannot be, So it's replete with some incomprehensibility. The better part of logic, then (or so it seems to me), Is learn your tongue as best you can. Wouldn't you agree? [14] We of Sparta Up From The Gutter David Snyder Eric Michael Street

King Leonides. It's mighty dark here in this hole He and his 300 Spartans. My only lighting a tint They stand at the Fire Gates at Thermopylae. Inconsistent glow as I try to climb to claw my way The Great Xerxes. Up these walls that hem me in The God Xerxes. Then I see them peering down His Persian army. Pouring refuse 'pon my head His one-thousand armies. I cling tight accept the abuse My only goal to reach the light They come for Greece. Then finally beneath the lip We come for them. Before I slip I grasp the ledge We come for... Over the edge I pull myself SPARTA! To find a shelf in a larger Hole illuminated by a tiny Here Xerxes, Inconsistent glow listen well, But now I know that I can scale your Immortals will die The heights I reach my goal again and be immortal... So I begin the next long climb NO MORE! Keeping in mind all their abuse We will give them nothing They can't dilute the drive to grow and take everything. Desire to know what I can be If they are thirsty And when at last I end the rise let them drink their blood! I climb up to my feet with pride If they are hungry A task complete a man full grown let them eat their flesh! I stand alone reach for the flame And hear God say... Ếcrasez l'infâme! You will not have the blood of our wives, Untitled the blood of our children. E. Byh You. Will. Life is full of decomposition. Not. Especially with my position. Have. I sit with in the middle thinking Greece. To my Right is the Father You will not have... To my Left is the Mother SPARTA! I sit with in the middle thinking. Father is full of creation and Judgment Gods can bleed, Xerxes. Mother opens her decomposition with consent. False gods bleed more. I sit with in the middle thinking. Men bleed even greater. I turn to Mother and Father strikes You will bleed most of all. I turn to Father and Mother strays I sit with in the middle thinking. Here we stand. Who will accept me? Here we fight. Surely not the Mother if I turn to Father If necessary... Definitely not the Father if I stray to Mother. here we die! So I must sit within reach of both and watch them bickering over me. [15] Raison D'être Untitled Ricky Parson Juan Ochoa lack of meaningful relationships Rising Up In the Morning… Washing Traces, of the time is running out Faces And Places from My Memory That I Dreamt The so many things I desire Night Before, Dressing in Yesterday’s Misfortunes And experience above all Tomorrow as I State At the Solid Never Opening Door! knowing that it's there Then I Run Across the Pages of all the Pain and All The waiting patiently Rages Crossing Old and Broken Bridges over the Rivers for the taking of Once More All the Smoke and all the Burning I’m "will I ever...?" Stepping Slowly Turning And my Brown Heart is ever is a question I often ponder Yearning In The Shadows of nightfall alone I cry Aloud will time allow To the World… Amidst its Invasion and Confusion, As I even here in this world endure What remains of This Perishing Fate And Move of imprisonment towards my Destiny! and strife or am I destined Wheels Upon Wheels for loneliness for eternity? Leroy Floyd II a loneliness I know too well a hunger that paralyzes I turn from where I started to see where I must go lust and love "What goes around comes around," they say fervor in the night We reap what we must sow, it's what we come to know passions igniting I'd like my path to be paved with joy so now I've learned one by one to smile awakening all senses And I'm not the best at showing love but I hug every memories long abandoned once in awhile. misplaced and forgotten Yet there's always that ever doubtful dread where failure how I long to feel peeks his head to know what others know Letting me know, "I come and I go, you reap what you or have known sow, you reap what you sow". once upon a time I'm not sure when I can repay my past, it’s a long and It's so strong broken road this desire I have Or just what price of fear and vice for the truth I now like a compressed coil extol a spring To succumb becomes my constant choice, ready for release I Adopt to extend my hope a hoist, I wait And whether the crowd objects with its adverse jeers knowing one day and jests "She" will come along- I'll await the rejoice of that still, small voice hoping so at least My conscious guide and inner sun and knowing too To whisper to me, "Job well done old friend, Job well that when she does done..." I will have a life Moments within moments, hurts trapped in hurts a reason to finally love Sometimes tears on bended knees are all I've found that a raison d'être. works In this destination where desire dreams My midnight madness of "what if means" In all I see I seek to find Some sense of peace to be called mine. [16] The Journey crying and mumbling how hard he tried Tomieko N. Davis But the monkey named dope was too strong it had daddy where he couldn't breathe. The journey is short for some, Being the strong black sister that she was Mama asked Longer for others, eternal for few. daddy to leave The journey, filled with choices, 4 years later I'm 10 years old during the chores of a Quit, overcome, be bitter, or rejoice. grown man No GI Joe's and tonka trucks had to give mama a The journey, a well worn path, helping hand Trod before, and after, forever more. We were doing better than we was now that daddy's The journey will make some flee — gone Moms, dads, children, and lovers – poof! – vanish. Moved to a bigger and better house that we were proud to call home The journey, its goal to win, Mama hasn't slowed down a bit—hustling hard to make Its prize is to your demise and ruin. ends meet The journey plays hard, but fair. furniture beautifully arranged even though it was so Will you lose and leave broken and depressed? cheap I can hear mama as plain as day The journey can be beaten, “Treat a woman with the utmost respect” is what I'm It will take all of your strength, might, and will. hearing her say The journey may seem ahead Till this day 15 years later I take heed to what mama Don’t relent, but persevere and endure. taught me And I thank god daily for the valuable lessons that life The journey will come to end. has bought me Your goal and prize – to be a better Man. I locked up in the pen for a crime I did commit The journey, your prison stay, it wasn't mama's fault I had free will and the lesson I Rise up Because? or Be defeated By?… choosed to ignore it The choice is yours. But I'm not lost I still have a fighting chance So I'm used this time wisely to better myself to be a Memories better man Marcus Shedd Also I want to let mama know I'll never quit I'm not lost, I found myself and this is it. I can remember when I was 6 years old; an old wood house Wild Darkness a shortage on food and no clothes Eric Bedersen Mama striving hard to do the best she can Juggling a job and 3 kids we were living off the land The wild darkness had a daddy but daddy had a habit Is a phosphorescent tapestry a monkey named dope on his back, daddy tried but he Before my lurid eyes couldn't grab it With the sullen setting So the monkey won but we didn't find out until Of the winter sun Christmas Eve Floats the incessant mist woke up to an empty house—no presents and no tree Of a purple night Mama hysterical thinking we've been robbed, gods knows she worked too hard Though I love the day the neighbors came forward and explained what she had And the running tide seen in the dark Where the river moss comes to rest Daddy carrying the tree and the presents down a dark In the dwelling house street Of my soul Mama mad as hell because she didn't want to believe Comes the clangor but see even though daddy was a dopephine he looked Of the wolf down on people who lied an’ when mama confronted him he explained while [17] The Name of the Game Release Dana Y’ungblood Gilbert M. Davila

Mama always told me that when you're playing with fire TDCJ OFFENDER PROPERTY you're bound to get burned Embossed in bold And, if you're chasing tail they'll be a lesson learned. Black lettering on the clear So many times lust has led me along its trail, Tubing of the black-ink pen But at the end there was always this awful mell. I hold, poised, Sometimes I wondered if the Devil could've drawed me a Over a clean, blue-lined conclusion; Sheet of white paper. I founded love in a woman named Maryjane to be a better Slogging through solution. The pool of muddled thoughts I used to run with Dollar Bill who loved to smoke dank, Amassed at the forefront His best friend was a brutha named Big Bank Hank. Of my troubled mind, Now, Mr. Dollar Bill was a cold-hearted brutha... I painfully search Some even say he was a greedy Mo'phucka! For words to exorcise Heard he once stole man's woman and left him for broke; The Phantoms of Darkness Took his car, skipped town and lefted behind a trail of smoke. Bottled inside. I know you remember how Ol' Cain killed Abel? Frustration, then anger, rears Seen Mr. Crack Pipe lying on the living room table. Its ugly head, seeking Hey, if you think that's cold... To devour the remnants Look in the graveyard, it's filled with the young and old. Of my waning patience. People always said, the good die young... Pressure in my skull. And when other people's business hits the streets, Temples throb; It's best to play deaf and dumb. Work of an angry vein. Ask Jack Daniels who stabbed 7up for Cokacola, Read in the paper it all happened in Pensacola. Ever so mercifully, Russian Roulette shot craps with Smith & Wesson, Images take the form It took many years before he learned his lesson. Of words and gather Mis Kitty was pretty pretty until her health started to fade, At the tip if my tongue. Then word hit town that Richard gave her AIDS. Spoken aloud, They had a daughter named Lexus who survived the test, Life is given to the pen But as pretty as she was she was a big ol' mess. In my trembling hand. It's a shame how she failed to put herself in check. My face hovers inches She married a man named Lincoln who died with her in a Above the page, deep nasty auto-wreck. In concentration, as I mar Uummm, Uummmm... yeah, I say the same. Line after naked line But that's the way it is that's the name of the game. With prose, virulent and Dark as a grave. The Gods Decide Chief J. Ramos Phantoms released. Voices cease. The winds blow, the seasons change Pen put to rest. But I am to remain in chains Tomorrow is another day. Until the Gods decide my destiny I live, think, dream and hate But they decide my final fate If they decide I am to be free Then in time that's what I'll be But if they decide I must remain The slowly but surely I'm to go insane It will be something that pierces my heart But I will remain here til death do us part... [18] Invictus II The Moon Bryan Page Francisco J. Lopez

Fast fading the night recedes, I woke up with a start. Without the slightest idea of leaving only gray. what time it was, but it was still dark… I felt the stare of And in the dark I am alone, someone, something, on me. Steadily strong and waiting for the day. palpable so that I wondered, craned my neck and Heavy hands hold me bound, looking out the window – I saw it: I saw what had been with no one else to see. watching me, guarding me during my sleep… The Chains are wrapped around my heart, Moon! Full of light and so full of life it appears to me as no God to set me free. I sit up on my bed – almost unconscious of my moves I will not bow, I will not break, and ignore the bed sheets whispering, calling my name I have no hand to hold. to come back to sleep. The friends I never once forsaked, …I give them a gentle nudge, and these slip off my have left me in the cold. thigh and crawl back to the bed where they wait for my My body bleeds my bones are return… I have better things broken, to do… Almost possessed, I but I will never cry. stare into the eye of the If words of fear are ever stranger, the friend or maybe spoke, lover who’s always been then I would rather die. there… Up there surrounded So here I am, here I am, by a congregations of clouds ready for the fight. watching me silently, patiently My soul remains, my spirit and possibly urging me on to lives, grow up since I was a child I will survive the night. beginning to live, oblivious however, of the unanimous Beyond A Window: A Night stare of the Moon… That now On The Lake looses its unanimity, its Jackey R. Sollars ambiguity before me on this night of interrupted sleep… Whisping wind, blending “The Moon.” I whisper to colors to dust. myself and the Moon itself A heap of spirit, living now whispers a song, a subtle liberation. poem of timeless mystery and Tails snap, manes ripple knowledge, for it has seen shadowed imagination. babies born and grow old, Quickened silhouettes to the kingdoms rise and fall – but west upon red dusk. the Moon, ever living and Feathers, white down glides upon mirrored soil. ever existing has seen it all and has a thousand stories to A handful of pebbles thrown against lucent glass. tell…! Through dark of night apparitions doth pass. “You,” it now says. “If you would be patient enough Til first light when instinct stirs to toil. to listen, I’ll in turn be kind enough to recount to you Midst hovering in Dawn’s graying light. stories of old… And stories of new…” “Yes” I beam. Lazily heads lift sniffing hope’s new day. “I’ll be a patient listener!” I add excitedly, gazing out my Restless neighs softly, a coyote’s last bay. window, my bed long-forgotten, because tonight is the Stillness breaks with a flurry fowl taking flight. night I get to know, really know – the Moon. Soaring high, the foal lifts its head. Bidding the pond elders a friendly farewell. [19] Man-Made Hell War and Peace Shane P. William Chaplar

God made earth and then made man. You had to be pro-war to be called patriotic, The snake gave man Knowledge and man But people all around the world though that was idiotic. Man made Hell, Blood, tears, deaths, Prisons and One could still support the troops and not the Slavery, Man made Hell and as years went by and administration. Centuries, wars and bloodshed and war cries yelled Being bully of the world won't make us a better nation. And women and young girls raped in front of their love They had Christians saying peace isn't what the Bible ones flaunted, but they tell you this is the America Dream and fighting But they should have asked themselves, “Is this what for peace and only showing you what they want you Jesus would have wanted?” to see and not the raping, unlawful killing, and dead We're supposed to hate the French today for standing in bodies out way. of Little Children Man made Hell and People all was But if things keep going sour, seems they'll have the said History final say. repeat it self alone meaning Man made Hell. They trashed a country singer because she voiced her opinion. Find the Answers Seems like freedom of expression here no longer has Jonathan Thompson dominion. Musicians of the day would not sing out against the Why do I suffer in silence fighting, and why am I losing my brother and sister to violence? So far too many kids today think war's somehow Why is the weight of the world on my shoulder exciting. and why because of my color I'm treated colder? We were quick to end the war, but we botched the occupation. Am I being rebellious because I find my own path The post-combat deaths, though, brought lots of and why are our soldiers dying in a bloodbath? frustration. Am I being selfish doe wanting some time The Pentagon was scared to use the term “guerrilla and why am I being punished for speaking my mind? warfare,” But whoever did the killing caused a nation to despair. Why do you belittle women calling them whores Folks in the White House were afraid to call it “civil and why do we still look down on the war,” poor? All that sectarian violence, though, was real hard to Why are so many people dying ignore. from AIDS Those in Congress started whining, claiming and why were threats on Jesse they had been misled. Jackson's life made? Claimed with valid information they might not have forged ahead. Why am I sometimes looked at as not But would things have been different if human; their kids were sent to die? is it because of my race that you do Looks like those who voted for the not understand? war don't have the right to cry! Why do the government sell products that cause cancer? Could you please help me find the answers?!? [20] The Lynch Trillogy IT'S NO LONGER 1712 Thee Gracious Poet W.E. STOPPIN' THE KUSS! © Y2K7 muha'funk willy lynch It Ain't 1712 AND them neckrows who rode w/ he... SISSIIEEES! it's no longer the seazon of self-impozed aparthide 1 Genocide Against Me 2 no more shall W.E. perpetuate the G.A.Me1 of sleek and Zulu—South Afrika—term for “matter(s) of diskussion b'tween hide native peoples” nor 2 play bipolar...brotha Just us & Dr. slide DEmagnify 1712 CEASE & DESIST the monstrosity ego throw that d'lusional klatter outta the ride Author’s Note: “DEmagnify 1712” originally W.E. gon' indaba2 w/ Ancestral sprit on the side... “D'magkneety 1712” iz mostly kapitalized spelling

except for where willie lynch is being referenced... it is KAUSE IT'S NO LONGER 1712 ah IRRITATIONAL lamentation that URGENTLY W.E. BLOCKIN' THE KUSS! REPEALS the mental DISeaze of slavery. Selah IT'S NO LONGER 1712

W.E. STOPPIN' THE KUSS! SELFINFLIKTED PLANTATION SINDROME

KAUSED US 2 ROME there's no more time for self-hate at the front gate FRUM ONENESS DOME that yadda-labba that DEgenerates our home plate KONCEIVED Ah GRANDUER ILLUSION how kan we put pigs over Folks & Peoples JUST 2 TRICK Ah BONE when our huemanity iz at the stake... & LUG Ah STONE W.E. draw frum the preancient well of Seven WEAR NONE HAD EXISTED where Orisha dwells & divinity swells THERE WAS SENT Ah PSUEDO-DROP ZONE... in our kombined paradise in heaven... DRAWED UUP AN IMAGE OF BYGONE EPOCH when we intimidate the plantation ode UZING Ah GHOSTLY GRUDGE we only further the konquer & divide kode HELD UP THE SLEEVE lozing out on our kollective independence a la mode... FALSIFIED W/ STUPEDUST PSYKHE Sow W.E. gon' set our place THAT ONLY BLINDEST DROLL WOULD B'LIEVE... REown our own space b.u.t. willie lynch gotta viktim 2day at the globeall sundance yeah, willie lynch gotta viktim 2day REtrace our legendary kommune KONSIEVED FRUM CHICKEN FEET & give us that natural chance... & GIZZARD GOOP

OLDE MASSA SNUK THRU THE KAUSE IT'S NO LONGER 1712 BLOCK DOT KOOP W.E. BLOCKIN' THE KUSS! BATON IN he LEFT & lynch ROPE IT'S NO LONGER 1712 IN he RIGHT W.E. STOPPIN' THE KUSS! he WHIPPED UP Ah RECIPEE UZING

US AZ Ah SEE SAW W.E. looking past that murder of mnemoniks & ONCE WE WAZ KON-FOUNDED & REkall-IN the Ancestors BY THE white so why's you 4F The Way in word he LAID US DOWN W/ THE WILLIE LYNCH LAW... & smack dung the Blessings... SHROUDD BY REKOGNITION, KONTROL then you shake out on us & say i'm KONfessing... & SEKURITY 4saking our survivall solidarity & self d'fense he LED US 2 THE VULTURES DEN intaking dour self-kon-fusion DISeaze and nullsense... & KONTROLED US BY THE SPLENDOR Sow W.E. gon' machikolate until OF THE BLACK MEN... the Son rizes in the west MADE ONE KONSUME FALSE IDOLS profuze our mental vizion frum the sanctum kitchen IN BLUE & Reap our follies w/ the machete test... 2 OVERTAKE THEIR BROTHA

THAT STAYED TRUE KAUSE IT'S NO LONGER 1712 W/ Ah PALE SPOT IN he OWN EYE W.E. BLOCKIN' THE KUSS! [21] FRUM LAKTOSE DEW & IGNORED our dekrees. THEY WERE THEN PUT ON Ah OCEAN SHREW HOW KOULD U LET willie IN & LIKE KASTAWAYS BACK IN THE DAZE AFTER ALL WE BEEN THRU THEY WERE KONFINED W/ PINKTOE HOW KOULD U LET willie IN DOO-DOO AFTER ALL THE BLUES WE DON THREW so willie lynch gotta viktim 2day HOW COULD U LET willie IN yeah, willie lynch gotta viktim 2day Eye figured the dezert sands we had tread WE HAVE B'KOME OFFENDED BY THE & were fragmented imagery frum PRAXIS OF ONES KULTURE SENSESEEBILITY the baldhead; ALTHOUGH W.E. STEM FRUM THE SAME that the pigfeet amongst is OLDE TIME AXIS waz dead to our homestead WE ASSUME Ah SEPULCHER DEnativity... & all the time Eye was MIS Led euroPEON VALUES BIO-KHEMIKALLY ALTER-IN like sanford bred... OUR PRIMORDIAL ALKEBU-LAN1 you kut our umbilikal ties az if INTELLEKTION we were ah mirage, INKYOUBAITING VIA 566 YR'S. hoodwink'd our kommunal bond FRUM THE ERA OF PAPAL BULL SHIT & gave me sum entertainment massacre; KASTRATION... centered by your selfreflekting pond SOW WE KNOW THE BIBIFLIES2 WAS MADE you assumed I saw in2 your kristal ball IN2 AH NIGGER BUYBULL when tunnel vision DISallowed you & MANYOUFAKTURED HOLY frum Black Light ALIKE THE black widow male spider Eye put up ah Serenity shield W.E. SHALL MAKE IT POIZONLESS & you put up ah wall... B'NEATH OUR FEET HOW KOULD U LET willie IN BLAAK AGAINST THE KREMESUN TIDE AFTER ALL WE BEEN THRU SKREEAAMING! HOW KOULD U LET willie IN W/ Ah BLACK HEART BEAT... AFTER ALL THE BLUES WE DON THREW WITHIN THE SOULJAH' DRUM TUNE HOW COULD U LET willie IN THOROUGH O.G. LAMBSBRED Eye BEEN klozed the door on slaak (meaning Our God) of komunikation WILL GIVE NILLY willy he own DOOM kept my eye/vizion/ear/arms/hearing LYNCHED! And STILL... & seeing our past prezent future in Being... willie gotta viktim 2day, SISSIIEEE! swam the 9,000 miles w/ kaution 1 yet full speed at 1,037 /3 miles per hr. 1 ANCIENT NAME OF AFRIKA... w/o ad nauseum 2 SUBLIMINAL TERM FOR BIBLE. MEANS so how kan U make us bleed UNKOUTH WHO WEAR IT AS AH BIB OF LIES TO when Sweetback told us in H.I.S. KEEP BLIND DEAD & DUMB AND WHEN THEY baadass song FOAM AT THE MOUTH 'only W.E. kan harvest the oneness kreed & Our Father by way of Hon. Garvey DEZERTE'd KOZMOS gave us the Do 4 self seed... HOW KOULD U LET willie IN Author’s Note: “DE-ZERTED KOZMOS” is ah klosure AFTER ALL WE BEEN THRU of sadness and UNacceptance inna melankholy HOW KOULD U LET willie IN lamentation...saying if you stray frum our unified verse AFTER ALL THE BLUES WE DON THREW Eye ain't going with you. Selah HOW COULD U LET willie IN when Eye trusted you... Eye had prezoomed we vakumed the rust'd midst of lil'G & bib G that we'd kross'd the finities of MISunderstood truancy; kause Eye felt komfortable in your domeaim. & I ain't see the forbode b4 your trees. til you tumbled down on krooked knees [22] Shackle in U.S.A. Signs of the Times – Breaking the Holds of Bondage by Reginald Jones Talib

I see already men torn from their weeping and Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, over distressed families, without hope, without redress, never lands of the free, and the home of the brave— to return, by an unrelenting, lawless crew, unbridled How can this be the land of the free, or the home of the by own our civil and legislative authority, and wantonly brave, a country that was built on the backbone of a cruel in the exercise of despotic power. I see slave— and now united we stand on top of his every endearing tie of father, husband, son and grave— brother torn asunder, unrespited, unpitied, The ultimate task is not to dwell in the past, or be unretrieved. deceived into thinking you're free at last, with an expression on your face like a tribal mask—you must Brainwashed look to the signs, as an original design, that provides Carlos Contreras the initiative to free your mind, only if you wake up in time—wake up brother, It's no time to sleep, you're Author’s Note: In many countries around the world, not lost sheep—but a sleeping giant with promises to children are taught to believe the way their elders keep, how long will you allow your ancestors to believe. (Extremists, zealots, fanatics) Etched in their weep—you must look deep inside, find the remnants mind from birth is the image of “God.” Religions taught of African pride, understand why your fore-fathers not as philosophies, but as “the way it is,” “the Truth.” died, to regain the strength to stay alive, for only the Even here in America where we supposedly have strong can survive— freedom of religion, parents teach their children of Evidently, the Creator has made it clear, you must hold “God,” “the only true God.” Whatever they're first fast to faith and in your heart be sincere; for a day is taught, they usually believe. They'll never have the coming that most men will fear, except such as chance to find “God” for themselves. prepare as it every draws near—so wake up the sleeping giant, for the world has defined, we are You believe in God but not of your own living in the day of the signs of the time— You believe in God because you were shown Free at last, free at last, are these inspirational words Taught from the womb to believe in their creed enough to escape the bondage of our past— Born to a faith that you're brainwashed to need The death, the hardship, the tribulation, can these words overcome such devastation— Never given a chance. Can we look beyond the norm, and expose the true Bound by nativity purpose of social reform—could it be a new set if Never given a choice, chains, that causes a similar pain—using methods of Bound by nativity pacification, to suppress the shame of a nation, a way for the country to flip the script, using a reversal of Stuck in a caste where you're bound from your birth the racial tip— You're taught that your soul will return to the earth Like a newspaper retraction, with pacifying promises of You know it's the way the creed of your kind affirmative action—have we become so insane, that Taught by those who've brainwashed your mind we no longer recognize game, there is a reason for the hype in the population, forbidden sex, the use of Never given a chance. drugs for recreation; is it necessary to draw a Bound by nativity blueprint or a map, it's a structure, just like a drug Never given a choice, trap— Bound by nativity Built on promises to achieve success, but too often the outcome is pain and duress—don't you see, they're Hindu or Christian, Islamic of Jew not bleeding the block, but bleeding the nation, while Children are born & bound it's true you hold onto hopes of future compensation— To faiths that they're taught & brainwashed to be Put two and two together, don't play the part of a fool, To live for themselves they're blinded to see free at last is an analogy, like forty-acres and a mule— They're bound by nativity [23] Run Charlie, Run optics to see your private Unknown subway tokens. Let me This poem was bone out your marrowed separated from its skull; transfuse envelope before we your ortho-paradoxy. I'll buy could record the name— you dying-mens and iron out please always mark your your beautiful wedding work, and if you know who presses in your Bureaus. wrote this poem, please Here, hon. Take my whole art. tell Toby! Untraditionally. No lessons tasted. Vasectomize How I wish I could compare to your stand-in ovations. their good, Keep it real. Keep it funky. On the pointed odes; ballads sweet- up, or keep it and go. Go! rhythmed and versed. Go shop for the branded brains. Perfect iambics! The masters stand Cine-sex movies and our madness tall. as registers ping! I read my ignorance and want to curse pong over the picket net worth. my tainted scribbles: graffiti to their walls. Distanced consumptions. Slavery’s long God Damn... Oh, well. There goes the done begun. neighborhood. Why, see? The Powells and Jordans and Woods? Look but don't touch while rebates ring Run, Charlie, run. The niggers fads-tedious stereos typewriting sporty news clippings. are coming. The niggers And still, the heads line up. are coming. So, come. Let's play, then. Bad Man-ton, Run, Charlie, run up the For anyone? Sale signs. Red-line and gerry-manner my dictions. Run, Charlie, run. The niggers are coming. The niggers Zone me out, thugged out, bugged out, locked out. Shout are coming. out. Out. Out! Run, Charlie, run hard raps against my dome. Stand on Raise my rent. Sell me your shingles at twice your price. my hip, hop down my head with Never mind. combat boots to underground roadkill crossovers that Vouch to take your kids, and school funds, too. Leave bungee tongue city kids behind. lusty lyrical libations lamenting ludicrous love at the Chase city Bankrupted community re-investment Lyricist Lounge, porkfolios. It's the law. Dial 911. waxing poor-hectic from con-street yield signs. Stop. Call the poor-leased, laid away, You-hauled out the fires Don't cross the solid white party lines, Jr. Only dash in into frying pens. Go. Go. for fun and army ant salvation. Go sprawl out to where the sun don't shine and the burbs Set. Alright. Dish out my pockets maimed-screamed on sing the lyrebird's my TV. multi-vultured, mocking song. Orchestrate self-hate in Timed, primed, Oscar's mired in soapy adulterated one grand diapers weaning his prime Oprah; members only, white dashiki affairs at a thousand mate with hate viewed for his fate. Watch. But don't stay bucks a plate. too long. You might get piped by cracked hypes, struck by Mac Run, Charlie, run. The niggers are coming. The niggers fucks, are coming. and soul punched in the gut by Sylvia's pot and nettles at Run, Charlie, run the demo tapes. Demo classy. Demo night. crassy, Demolition politicians. So bring Tum Tacts and a dash of balk and leper Demo-hippo-critters. Hippo-dermy-rocks. Flesh rules, sprayers. dude. For food, clothes, shelter. It's not too late. It's not too dark. All. Every measure beyond need. Love me? So, come back. Come black. Prove it. Take off your clothes. Let me torch you with Or sleep white. Sleep tight-fisted. 'Cuz, the niggers are my new-clearer coming. [24] State Property The Rebel Anwar Tapia Chester Jones

You sleep on their clock What a vivid imagination, And awake to their alarm. Thoughts of freedom on this plantation. You work without pay Constant darkness my soul does dwell, To the hours they say. Only through death, shall I be released from Hell. You wear their clothes Four-score, before a war was fought, According to dress code, Lying Ab Lincoln's proclamation forgot. You eat what they say 40 acres and a mule, 'twas not for we, And eat what they gave. How long in Amerikkka, for us this poverty. Your visits are a privilege Black women, our sisters, our back bone broke, They can take away. “We Shall Overcome”—at least that's our hope. You get no sympathy. Freedom, sweet freedom, released from this You are their commodity. plantation, You are State Property. Where forth art thou freedom, in my imagination?

You obey their whims Fall Back That are also the rules. Jonathan Thompson Your mail they will read When they feel the need. Fall back young sisters Your free-will is restricted You have a precious gift And your movements limited. Hold on to yourself for you are pure Your dreams are extinguished Don't lose yourself And your potential inhibited. Your only possessions Fall back young brothers What you buy at commissary. Don't fall victim to the streets You get no privacy. You have a voice that should be heard You are their commodity. And your strength is needed in the communities You are State Property. Fall back single mothers New Age Twelve Gauge I know it's hard raising kids on your own Gary Gilbert But you have to press on to a better day Your love is the next best thing to God's love Merging, splurging, surging need, Forget the people, never equal, greed. Fall back black man Without hope, without chance, downtrodden trance, You don't have to be another sacrifice Break out, staked out, no money in advance. You have the ability to choose how you want to live Bought and sold, break the mold, rotten to the core, Make nonbelievers respect you and your mind Government, money spent, none passes through my door. America fall back!!! I demand White trash, colors clash, moral majority no more, Realize that I am first a man like any other Forever resting where I am nesting, hungry for a little I have the freedom of speech so hear me outstanding score. We are equal in God's eye so accept me Living life with a smile, everyone wants the extra mile, Or fall back Your cloak and tunic too, throw them in the pile. Oppression, repression, all the same, It’s all part of our cold, cold modern game. Why call it new when it is so old? Too, too many left out in the cold. Give us a blanket, but no shoes, Our death won’t even make the local news… [25] Texas Home James Meier

Six tight strings on an old guitar Homemade likker in a Mason jar Soft summer nights on a front porch swing Hummin' 'n strummin' 'n tryin' to sing

Hits from old Hank and sometimes Ray Tunes from the legends I learned to play Lost in memory of bygone days Just me 'n my six string, take me away

From all this modern day musical crap Senseless noise 'n neighborhood rap Deliver me Lord from all that noise And take me back to them good old boys

Pickin' 'n grinnin' 'n sippin' along Lost in that jar 'n all them songs Just lovin' life 'n that old farm The woman inside with Texas charm

Lovin' that bundle down the hall She's Gone Safely wrapped in gramma's shawl Ruben Wilson Livin' my life 'n following fate Makin' my way in the Lone Star State I never thought I'd have to go through this shit again— But this time I've lost not just a lover, but a wife, my Don't get no better 'n it can't be beat very best friend— This old swing 'n that unpaved street She told me she couldn't take it anymore and that she Star filled nights 'n propped up feet really tried— But I gotta go now... She also said before that she'd never leave me but I guess she lied— It's time ta eat. But it's not her fault, I caused her to have some pretty deep scars— The Book Plus it's hard to feel loved by a man who's behind prison Chief J. Ramos bars— I wonder did she fall out of love, or find another man— I read a book and it made me laugh Whatever happened, none of this was part of the plan— I read it again but it made me cry We were supposed to be together forever, united as I realized it was the story of my life one— so I read it again and it made me sigh Because of my stupid ass it's over, because of something ashamed, embarrassed, excited at the things that I saw I done— it caught me off guard as I stood in wonder and awe Whatever she's doing, I hope she's happy now that she's made me wonder why I didn’t have a heart of pure stone free— seeing things that hurt clear to the bone But no matter what, she'll never find another who loves Things I know that I should not have done her like me— for the most part I was young and just having fun No one could ever love her, the way that I loved that But now it’s time to decide what I want out of life sweet little woman— A house, a car and maybe a wife But in the end it's her loss, because they come for a dime I can’t well on the past and what could of been a dozen! the mistakes or choices or even the sin Though I will reflect, to keep my head straight and I pray to God that it’s not too late [26] The finale chapter of the book is yet to be read Me & You I can still change it before I am dead TMC (The Mexikan Connection) who knows it could be number one on the list The end of the story could have a hell of a twist I remember the first day I met you girl in front of River nothing to lose nothing to hide Center Mall. come over here, come get inside Young and beautiful as can be and I fell in love with come meet the real Mr. Jekyll & Hyde… what I saw. I was shy just as much as you, we were only up in our Madness teens Gary Gilbert I tried to keep me up in your mind so you could see me in your dreams. What is it we are searching for, Back in those days I stayed in the slums and you stayed What is it we hope to find? off of Tea and Malone. Life is losing its meaning, Remember how we would talk all night until we stayed Could we be running out of time? asleep on the phone? Till the sun was up till the sun went down we'd be Madmen with mushroom cloud intentions, walkin' all through the park. Armies of God loving to death nations. We couldn't wait for night to fall so we could kiss up in My tears leave streaks of greenhouse gasses, the dark. Not much help wearing rose colored glasses. M&M 4/Life baby girl, remember that's what we engraved in the park? I don't think we will be happy until it all burns, I told you I felt this love from the start, until I die you'll The hatred of races our humanity we spurn. live in my heart. If only I could grab the planet and offer a shake, Remember the words we promised each other, that we The future of our children, our families at stake. would never brake apart? No matter what happened between me and you, that we What do we do when we no longer care? would neva change our hearts. When we see living as torture, our existences bare? Strap bombs to our bodies, melt crosses to swords, Now I sit here girl all alone all I think about is me & I am choked with emotions, at a loss for words. you. I feel I'm only hurtin' myself cuz is there even a me & Maybe our future has already been written, you? With the void we seem to be smitten. What happened to the love you have for me, baby it ain't I cry, I weep, and moan, the same no more? Towards self-destruction we are surely prone. Why do you make it so hard on me, baby I can't live like this no more. There's only one thing that's left to say but I don't know how to say good-bye. I really don't know if to give up or not, it's killin' me half to death inside.

I miss the feelin' that I would get when when our lips would come to touch. I miss the words of I love you, I think of it now and it hurts so much. I try to block it out of my mind but I think so much so I play it again. Times have changed it ain't the same, I wanna new life but it won't begin. Cuz I tell myself, don't let her go, everything's gonna be alright. But I tried for so many lonely years so how the hell is it gonna be alright? Mixed feelings have rushed and filled inside, it's tearin' [27] my lonely heart apart. Now I sit here girl all alone all I think about is me & I know your love is there for me and I know I'm you. somewhere in my heart. I feel I'm only hurtin' myself cuz is there even a me & But you act like you don't care for me cuz baby you ain't you? down for me. What happened to the love you have for me, baby it ain't I'm not in sight so I'm outta your mind so you easily the same no more? forget of me. Why do you make it so hard on me, baby I can't live like You know how bad I’m doin' girl but you don't even this no more. think of me. There's only one thing that's left to say but I don't know I tell you one day I'll be on top but you don't have faith how to say good-bye. in me. I really don't know if to give up or not, it's killin' me half to death inside. Now I sit here girl all alone all I think about is me & you. I Gotta Ride I feel I'm only hurtin' myself cuz is there even a me & James Meier you? What happened to the love you have for me, baby it ain't Papa taught me how to ride the same no more? Hung a barrel right outside Why do you make it so hard on me, baby I can't live like Kept me swingin' 'n twistin' away this no more. Taught me th' tricks 'n toughened my hide There's only one thing that's left to say but I don't know Made me live ta rope 'n ride how to say good-bye. I really don't know if to give up or not, it's killin' me half Rodeo's become my ways 'n means to death inside. It's in my blood 'n all over my jeans My days are spent knottin' a rope I try so hard to keep this alive but it's killin' me half to Cowboyin' up for my time in hell death inside. My own eight seconds 'n that janglin' bell I don't want the pain to show outside so I'm tryin' to hold the pain inside. It's a homespun cowboy's favor-rite drug With my hands to my face so my tears don't fall but A big ole slice off'n a plug through my fingers tears still flow through. Better'n an angel by my side Cuz I don't really want to say good-bye, what happened Gimme a chew... to the days of me and you? I gotta ride! This wasn't the way it was supposed to be, why do you make it so hard on me? Cowboy up 'n slack them reins Everything I tell you baby girl, you don't even believe in Chasin' dreams 'cross Texas plains me. Ridin' bulls 'n bustin' broncs Yeah, I did what I did and you buried me, I'm reachin' up Hustlin' a buckle 'n eatin' dirt help me off the ground. Tryin' to outrun th' constant hurt But too many times you pulled me up just to let me right back down. Deliver me Lord form rodeo dreams Your words always make me feel so nice, they're Keep me safe from th' crowd and th' screams everything and all but true. Them poundin' hooves 'n them red-eyed beasts You know baby girl I'm in love with you but I know Lemme keep my agein' flesh 'n precious blood what I gotta do. C'mon Lord keep me outta that mud. I raised myself up off the ground and this is the last time I will fall. Desire It's coming down to the final straw, be down for me or The Rooster it's nothing at all. Desire abides... It is all people have that stands proof against time. Everything else... ROTS! [28] Ana Train Tracks (Amy) J.S. Slaymaker Ricky Pearson

With your gauzy dresses and soft raven tresses, Remember that day long ago and subtle Spanish sophistication. When we were walking down those beater tracks In your smoky eyes I watched my soul liquidise, and you- and stood frightened at your invitation. you had that old train still running in your head I resisted the urge to completely immerge, We walked a mile while you cried a river myself in you, for you'd swallow me whole. drunken though you were Your love and affection demands total subjection, your pain was all too real necessitating my whole heart and soul. my arm around your waist, holding you Of my own volition was cast into perdition, hearts beating to the sound and the great sea of insufferable tears. of our footsteps on the rocks I know it's pathetic and hardly prophetic, your heart aching from a memory that your loving arms would've soothed my fears. another time, another place as the tears fell down your pretty face She of My Dreams you shared... Earl E. Thomas said your daddy was a walker said he was a rider Why does the very thought roamed the land without you of my heart's discontent parade victoriously or your momma Through the spectrum of my dreams? only him, his drink and the broken thoughts within his head She should be the last vision dreams upon dreams- my subconscious summons— never coming to fruition or so it seems... lacking the will, he lost the way and fell into depression Still I've chased her through fields that fateful night years ago empty streets— should have been long ago forgotten Followed her through crowded malls. but still that train slides on down that rusty track By every time I'm within reach of her and when you start drinking the vividness of my imagery dissolves, you get to thinking my chimera stalls. that you want to be like him so you saw the tracks and pulled over Tranquility as you have so many times before Theodore Leslie and all but run toward the light and here we walk Being alone is the next best thing and here you cry to being with her. and the light draws near Fleet skeletons of music I will help you, I will heal you dance on fallen leaves. I will love you like you need Silver birches bathe in pools of so take my hand- please, babe afternoon sun. and let's push this memory away Amid the confusion of finally I reach you spring dispersals and the train leaves us in its wake A misguided bird cracks the the conductor never truly knowing shell of a crooked day. how close he came The music stops. Darkness to taking an angel's life away. coats the ugly day, She’s light on the only way to break the solitude... Lay down beside her again. [29] The Coon Hunt You're A Crown Princess James Meier Dana Y’ungblood

That old dog won't hunt Little girl with Angel eyes born through incest And that old hound won't tree A secret not known to many, as quiet as kept But that old coon you're chasin' Her mother was raped by her Uncle Jimmy while she Is wearin' perfume just like me slept No one ever listened to her cries for help Don't take no kinda genius Abandonment is all that your mother ever felt To look around 'n see Too young to know about her bodies haste maturity Them all-night huntin' parties Uncle Jimmy staked out waiting to rob her virtually Are takin' you from me A thief he is - Ultimately!!! Admiring your mother from a distance, Don't know who that old coon is As if his devilish smile has no resistance But she must not have fleas Proud cause your mother keeps quiet and no one'll listen And when I think of losin' you The puzzles scattered everywhere now, and a few pieces I grow weak in th' knees are missin' Time was in overdrive, inside her stomach a baby was Now we've traveled this life's highways pumpin' like a pison. And we've even sailed rough seas It's obvious now, 13 years old and 4 months pregnant But I've never been without you Now everyone's feeling guilty, and your mom grows We're a match, everyone agrees repugnant Uncle Jimmy's on the run, and your grandma constantly So listen while I tell you repent, Pay close attention please So your grandma goes and presses charges to the full And wake up to what's happenin' extent I won't get on my knees The family picture has such a lovely frame Though the picture itself appears to be so strange... You're my man forever That's why it’s often rearranged. I said it in my vow Because your beautiful existence is the source of family And I won't give you up pain. Especially not now Wildflowers and Rainshowers With our kids all grown J.S. Slaymaker Finally now we're free And this old Colt forty-four Fields of wildflowers and summer rainshowers, Says you're stayin' here with me! and stars shooting across the dusk. And beneath its cover I kissed my lover, (Gunshot Optional) inhaling the scent of her musk. Sensing her fever I sought to relieve her Untitled of her pulsating feminine fire. Christopher Manthei Ecstatic emotion rolled us like the ocean, capsizing my ship of desire. An artist living sculpture lying bare on the covers Tasting so sweet and without missing a beat, seen by the light from below the closed door my palm stroked the length of her thigh. a fierce dragon peering at me from the beautiful Teasing and squeezing and with loving so pleasing, marble hollow down low she melted and came with a sigh. My desire to kiss and thereby seduce the dragon Behold upon her cheeks the maiden’s blush, to tameness or more fierce wildness as having been applied by my love’s brush. the dragons desire to be taken now Me wondering if I could capture the dragon master's heart and capture the dragon for my own.

[30] You and I know you Pablo J. Ponce as you were, as you could be, and as you will be in your ultimate glory My heart is special to those you see, you are the co-owner, the co-maker, the churn who care shooting star spring of the planet earth, goddess of the universe time air for you I’m strong my love is bright golden don't look at me that way sunset love in flight that is the look of unconsciousness – Be soft and gentle for it’s and ignorance of our true identity – my heart you hold bed of as deities of this mundane creation where feathers pot of gold all I self attempts to separate self from self... have too offer its all just for you me your bright red don't look at me that way rose you my morning dew it is the look that denies your goddesshood – I think about you my heart it puts you at such a worldly level – your highness goes out that you love me the level where you're over there and i'm over here I have no doubt like a where i'm in black and you're in white crystal clear lake real where you're the mistress and me the slave soon you’ll see you and I where you're rich and i'm poor are meant too be. oh, what a worldly divide

Simplicity pleeze ... don't look at me that way Armando Solis you're not the synthetic chemicals that denies your natural beauty to shine Recreating outside this cold November day. you're not my true enemy – the oppressor Just thinking of you and the many things I want to say that holds your kingdom hostage It's on days like these that I wish we were together you're not all you have been made to think you want to Even the simplest of things we share, I will treasure be forever don't look at me that way Please forgive me for the mistakes, I've made in the past you are the mother of all creation... And please understand that I want our friendship & bond you are the deity that holds up half the sky... to last you are the beautiful reflection of my hu-man-ity You are my world and my heart's only desire, When I think of you my soul catches fire. so... My feelings for you... I can't find words to describe or expression don't look at me that way Just, always remember that you're the best, to have, understand that the bondage you see me in is actually a and to hold-to protect and to treasure testament of my true freedom Being bonded to you is a reminding pleasure. I can not explain what you mean to me, but God above don't look at me that way does... i am a son of a mighty supreme But I surrender to faith that love will last forever- don't look at me that way eternity. don't say you don't know me i am you – you are me and We are no strangers Don't Look At Me That Way Thee Baldhead Blackman don't give me that look... ain't nothing changed... i was – i am, and i am still... the owner, the maker, the cream of the planet earth, god of the universe irrespective of your revocable imperfections, i dare to [31] Prisoner Express Non Profit

CRESP/Durland Alternatives Library Organization 127 Anabel Taylor Hall U.S. Postage Paid Ithaca, New York 14853-1001 www.prisonerexpress.org Permit 448 Ithaca, NY 14850

Prisoner Express promotes rehabilitation by providing information, education and The Durland Alternatives Library, opportunities for creative self expression which f nds Prisoner Express, is a to incarcerated individuals throughout u project partner of the CRESP the United States. . Center for Transformative Action. Anthology free to prisoners. All others Additional Support comes from the please contact Prisoner Express for Cornell Public Service Center. rates. All proceeds are used to fund programming

About the CRESP Center for Transformative Action

Our Mission Our Project Partners We are an alliance of individuals and organizations inspired by principles of nonviolence and committed to bold action for Alternative Media and Information justice, sustainability, and peace. Our Center supports change The Durland Alternatives Library makers with the tools to build thriving, inclusive communities Positive News that work for everyone. We serve our member organizations, the TheocracyWatch public, and Cornell University by offering educational programs and strategic organizational resources. Simplicity and Sustainability Simple Living America About Transformative Action Tale Back Your Time Transformative Action is a model for social change rooted in Ecovillage-Sustainability Education Engineers for a Sustainable World the principles of nonviolence. It realizes a positive, just and inclusive vision by seeking to expose injustice, transform Economic Justice adversaries into allies, and evolve anger into goodwill. The Workers Center Authentic yet compassionate communication is a foundational skill. Our goal is to train and equip our member organizations Connecting the Americas and others committed to social change with the most effective Committee on US-Latin American strategies and experiences for engaging this empowering Relations (CUSLAR) approach. Transformation Through the Arts Vitamin L Project Ithaca City of Asylum