Inmate,
Another nameless, faceless criminal taken off the streets
within the skip of a hearts beat
Another shameless, brainless hazard to society
Locked up behind bars, for no less than 25 years
To protect the "righteous" members of this community
To keep him away from us in accordance to the government’s strategy
Inmate, another man walking through the halls of this prison complexity
Another violent offender, another one resisting arrest
Another one refusing to surrender, another plea of innocence
Obviously a lie, no matter how hard he fights and insists
Another one chasing his aspirations, chasing the American dream
Another street corner celebrity with mad street credibility because of a family history of inherited criminality
Inmate, another one sharing a space of four walls with no windows
Dividing the crowded space, forced to live with men he can't stand because there isn’t room for them and his thoughts but
He's gotten used to the noise, the struggle, the violence, the putrid smell...of fear...and uncertainty
He has used his voice, tried to reach out and can't stand this living hell, that has no purgatory
The courts don't care, the warden don't care, the CO's couldn't care less
He is on his own, living to eat and for the civility of other men
His life has become one mess which was once promising and blessed, now he would do ANYTHING to see his family again
And to think that all of this happened because of a friend
Which didnt make sense Until that one day he tried to make a quick buck one night because this thing that we call minimum wage which means that if America could pay less they would…wasn’t cutting it
Inmate, you can see through it and reach through it but you can't walk out that threshold
You can't use the phone, only one plate at lunch, there's never room for 'I want more' or 'my food is too cold'
In the belly of the beast the dragon pleas to be unleashed
To be released into the crease this paradise of demons, so he can enjoy a century of war.
However the police that wrongfully accused him, are still out there probably smiling underneath, because they are the real thieves by stealing a life while not accepting defeat..
Inmate, another young black man working on these concrete cotton fields for free
Another American chain gang shackle, another victim of modern day slavery
Another young black king convicted for the darkness of his skin
For the poorness of his wealth, for his mental health, for the prejudice about his kin
Into this new era of Jim Crow,
Where even when he does becomes free, will still remained shackled by the system
Can’t find a job, can’t vote, can’t live his life the way he wishes to live it
A member of this new social undercaste that makes an untouchable seem more of a citizen the moment he checks the box that asks if he has a criminal record on an application
Surprisingly less than three fifths of a man..
Which makes one question how can one make ends meet when the only occupation that will accept him…are the streets
So all that's left to do to make due is to do the same thing that got him there in the first place
Once again he will be a paper chaser, who will be fighting to stay alive to fulfill the dream he sought before he caught this case
Rent is too expensive, his child needs new clothes and no money is coming in
So he will try his luck in gambling and hustling, becoming a prison style money maker…again…
A beast among the animals in this struggle for life, doing his own time on these acres of hell that we call… America
Land of the free….unless you used to be locked up
Free…but the scars from the handcuffs will forever remain existent and the figurative noose marks from the system that tried to bury him, will still glare red on his neck
What once was love is not the past, hatred feeds the hater and his lost soul dwells steadfast
Until…he is back into the same purgatory that consumed him previously
And this vicious cycle of inmates leaving prison only to go back because they are not accepted into society…will continue…and although these members of society have names they will forever be known as…inmate
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