Poetry From Inside

The Cell

I'm a prison cell, 6x9, born in hell. My nickname: the can, slammer, the big-house.

I'm the place many fear because, for some, there's no way out. I'll take away your son and replace him with misery, instead. When you're with me, most folks consider you dead.

I've seen too many convicts fall apart. They cry to the guard at night to let them out when it's dark.

Convicts think that they are all alone, but, if you listen closely, you can hear my groan. All the pictures that you put on your wall; they are stuck to my skin.

I hear your prayers at night even when you are whispering.

I make it hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Your pain is always my pleasure.

When the Board paroles you, then, in comes yet another con; no remorse for your tears. I see them too often.

When you cry, I make you feel like you live inside a coffin. I watch when you're eating. I play with your mind while you sleep. I'll make you dream that you're free, but you always wake up to me; face to face with a cage.

No matter your age, I can shatter your hopes. I can turn you into a savage rage.

I can change your life, but that's only if you're not doing life. It's sickening to think about bed linens becoming your woman. It's at that very moment when you realize just how much you're suffering.

I'm the one holding all the cards when you're caught up in an uprising.

Maybe one day, I'll open my gates to set you free, but you'll always be my property, for I've left a lifelong scar on your soul.

You may leave me one day, but you will always remember me; the Cell.



Restless

I close my eyes only to find visions of her echoed in my mind. Remembering all the moments we shared, wishing I could reach out and hold her tight as day turns into night.

The comfort of knowing that she cares helps ease my time of despair. She was always there to hold me close. That girl, she keeps it real, but she didn't know how I feel ... I'm crazy about that girl!

Now, as I restlessly open my eyes, I see you. You are the girl who keeps my heart true. From now on, when I close my eyes, visions of you will make me smile.

So, maybe now I will be able to rest ... for a while.



Just A Dream

As I slept, the night was perfectly still. Snow flakes brushed and swirled against my window like dancing maidens, shy and white. They swarmed in sodium-vapor lights as they fell, covering the earth like cotton, absorbing all sound.

Bare trees were black against white; the moon, an indistinct face behind a fog. Illuminated trees filling windows and fires lit. I was dreaming of a white Christmas.

When I woke up and looked out my window, I didn't see these things of beauty. Instead, I saw brick buildings surrounded by high fences topped with razor wire.

It was at that moment when I realized that it was just a dream.



No More Pain

A grown man sits in his cell and cries, yet no one seems to care why. Convicted of a crime he's sentenced to death.

With every new sunrise, he wonders if today will be the day that they come and end his pain.

As the day grows nearer, society prepares a feast while he peaks to a priest.

The time has come. It's the top of the hour and silence runs throughout the prison. The lights, they flicker and everyone starts to pray. You're not alone, brother, we all feel your pain.

Now that the deed is done, society lets out a sigh of relief, but the pain, it doesn't end, there. His family has to grieve for their loss.

Now that the crying's has stopped and the tears are drained, maybe now, there can be no more pain.



Beginning and End

In the beginning, when we first met, we were just kids. We didn't know much about life. We had no worries.

Now, as time passed, we became close. We can talk about anything. You became the only one who was true to me. We shared each other's joy. We shared each other's pain. We never had to worry about tomorrow, life was just a game.

Today, life's not the same. The game has ended. Although we are still really close, we are so far apart. Sitting here in my cell, when I think about you, my heart begins to ache.

I only have one regret, that I was so afraid to tell you that my love for you has grown to be more than just friends. Now that you know how much I love you, we must live on and see how our story will end.


By Edward Moody