Prison Journalism: Just sit'n Here

Prison Journalism: Just sit'n HereJeffrey Shockley is a writer serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institution-Fayette in Pennsylvania.

by Jeffrey Shockley

08-06-2023 15:57

in Prison Journalism

Jeffrey Shockley is a writer serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institution-Fayette in Pennsylvania. Photo: Pixabay.

Just sit'n here in this prisoner's chair

--

Trying to decide

Where to go from here

With nothing but time

--

To remind

On the mistakes made

The heartaches gave

--

And the friendships they'd fade Past the times we've made

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The shame of my life

Sending a lady to the grave

Dear Lord

Her soul do save.

A life's time cut short

Because if it ain't life

It ain't long

And again I'm wrong

For not being strong

Long before becoming weak

Now I sit in this seat . Doing LIF & E

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Listening as those around

Speak as if their yesterday Never happened

Grappling in a past

For an identity trashed

At the cost of

Family separation

Crack-head generation

Street-life penetration ..

Crying Who's messed

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What will it take

To make it through To get me to

Out there with

you up now?

Short of a breakthrough?

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A kind that'll make others see Through

all the junk I used to be

To fill the emptiness inside of me

ALSO READ: Prison life: The daily routine of an inmate at Pollsmoor

Meanwhile,

I'm still just sit'n here

In this prisoner's chair Trying to decide

When will I get up from here? Trying constantly not Live in despair

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Nothing to fear

Ideas out there

That can help steer

In the right direction

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I dare not fear

That I could be here

When the morrow is not promised

So today I live

For the one that can't

The article was facilitated by Erin Parish from the Human Kindness Foundation (HKF).

The Human Kindness Foundation's mission is to encourage more kindness in the world beginning with people in our prisons and jails.

HKF has published several books including: We're All Doing Time, Lineage and Other Stories, Deep and Simple, and Just Another Spiritual Book and provide these books for free to people currently serving time in prisons or jails.

Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website?

If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211

You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prisoner journalism articles.

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