make one bad decision
or follow foolish friends
and train ride ends with
[ time inside the walls ]
hyper little boy in glasses
grew to be prison chaplain
found his niche ministering
[ to guys inside the walls ]
they have watched men die
but won’t cry except when
another sinner is baptized;
[ set free inside the walls ]
we’ve been taken through
frisked before entering gate
blessed to worship too with
[ church inside the walls ]
Melissa hosts poetics at the pub with Johnny Cash singing his Folsom Prison Blues…
Jan 15, 2026 @ 12:09:35
How wonderfully creatively original, your poem! I cannot imagine life within prison walls, the way you ended each stanza helped make my focus a bit more clear. Great write!!!
Jan 15, 2026 @ 16:57:35
Thank you, Helen! We want justice tempered by compassion for those inside the walls.