Poetry by Matt Barnes

CDCR

By Matt Barnes

I see myself slowly slipping into that dark abyss 

Too much pain, sleepless nights, my mind not at ease

            Destined to spend eternity

Warehoused and caged like a beast 

                                    Asking where is the humanity

                                    Stripped of all integrity 

            And the right to be me

Another nameless one trapped on this insanity 

                                    Given a number 

            A practice to dehumanize 

                        And deprive us the essence of life

            More specifically I am a dollar sign

                        In the profit 

            Of the prison industry complex 

                        Otherwise known as the CDCR

Where their bottom line is more precious than a human life 

            Fueled by the ideologies of a corrupt capitalistic society 

                        A living testimony here I stand

To prove to the world that even the people society has 

                                    Thrown away

Have the power and strength to change their destiny 

Twisted
By Matt Barnes

Twisted personas…
Animals hidden under false appearances…
Where did you form this idea…
That you are better than others because of the color of your skin…
This mentality of hatred…
Is the cause of the decay of our nation…
It’s twenty-twenty…
Kind of makes you think…
How far have we really come…
Since those days…
Those days are the same as today…
Hate speech equals violence in our streets…
Quick we need a change of pace…
But who got the remedy…
When problems arise, they only know one way…
Death…
We as a society need to realize the power we possess…
It’s out responsibility to create a solution to the madness…
Can’t allow our youth to grow up as we did…
Stuck in an atmosphere of weaken morality…
Cutting themselves just to feel an escape…
Let them feel love instead of the pain of hate…

Battle Tested and Respected
By: Matt Barnes

There remains within our society a false sense of reality…
That only holds true for a selfish few…
High power perspective of male superiority…
To be seen and not heard…
As if their ideas and thoughts hold no merit…
Prepared by education to perform their duties as mothers and sisters…
Overlooked and ignored is the social norm…
Even when the social ideologies are filled with holes…
Their pursuit is to maintain the status quo…
Justifiable because of their gender…
Stripped of all integrity…
People are not property…
To place values and price tags half-heartedly…
There’s no monetary unit fit for the woman’s soul…
The future of our society is at risk…
Our values, beliefs and customs need to reflect a lasting equality amongst us…
Or they’ll only bring destruction…
Where is this freedom…
Denied a voice…
Breeding a generation of deafening silence…
Oppression and hatred destroying a nation…
It’s time for a women’s liberation…
Cultivating a new reality, of true equality…
No inferior references…
Battle tested and respected…
Just as Sarah Moore Grimke…
Her voice was a fuse that helped to ignite a movement…
That established among all citizens social justice…

America’s Morality
By: Matt Barnes

The walls are closing in on me…
Air in my lungs is running thin on me…
I can’t breathe…
The world seems to be crumbling beneath my feet…
People unaware of the damage they cause…
Or just don’t care…
Lacking a social conscience…
Breeding hatred and violence…
Then wonder why people are dying…
Oppressed…
Lives are stolen…
Torn, snatched and ripped from them…
Lost in a hopeless reality…
Of a society that is built upon the blood and tears of its minorities…
Should forever be remembered as a stain upon America’s morality…

American Classism
By Matt Barnes

Born into poverty was the crime committed…
Condemned because of meager means…
Can’t use our blood to justify your debts of greed…
You fight against us…
Because you refuse to recognize our humanity…
While you feed on hatred and violence…
You spread false lies and untruths…
Weaponized words spoken with the intent to harm the innocent…
A generation lost, relocation of our communities behind prison walls…
Mass incarcerations…
Results of corrupt officials with warped mentalities…
Engaged in racist ideologies…
Oppressed because we choose to uplift the people…
Where is this American Dream…
Life, liberty and prosperity…
For who American classism…
All I see is a society that persecutes those less fortunate than he…
Is this democracy or is this the one per cent that profits off of me…

Our Nation’s Sickness
By Matt Barnes

Our nation is sick…
Quick what’s the antidote for hatred…
Love, love, show me some love…
Show me a cure for the damage we’ve caused…
No, I’m not innocent…
I’ve done my part to breed this culture of hate…
But where does it stop…
We need a moment of silence for those that we’ve lost…
Misguided youth taught to hate based off race…
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…
Cyber bullies ready to go…
Trolling the web for their next victim…
Where a few strokes of the keys can destroy someone’s life…
This is insanity…
There’s so much poison in the world today…
Mass shooting, school executions…
It’s like we’re living in a movie script…
This shit ain’t real, it’s not making sense…
We need society to wake up and show us a path through all this…
And create a solution to the madness…
I’m hopeful for a future without gun violence…

Breathe
By Matt Barnes

I feel the clock slowly ticking my life away…
It seems that with every breath taken is another day gone…
Don’t even understand how it all could of went so wrong…
My past playing out like a movie in my head…
The images that I witness…
Reflections of a real-life nightmare…
Reminiscence of the life that I was living…
Can’t seem to shake these dark feelings…
They’re a part of my existence…
Regrets of a past life wasted…
Fighting to take control of my reality…
To make sense out of all this insanity…
And push forward towards new beginnings…
There’s a weight lifted… Finally, I feel like I can breathe.

No Wicked Thoughts
By Matt Barnes

My mind is its own worst enemy…
Never have a moment free from its energy…
Self-sabotaging thoughts start taking control over me…
Holding me back from achieving my destiny…
I’m on a mission to break free from its deceit…
To take the power back before it’s too late…
Because we are what we think…
The empowerment of our mind is what makes us complete…
My mind, body, and soul are at one and in peace…
Confident in my ability to succeed…
No wicked thoughts can bring me down…
No person alive can take my crown…
I am the king of my world now…
He who laughs last laughs loud…
HA HA HA…
I won this round…

Knowledge
By Matt Barnes

An individual who does not know, (have knowledge of), the profession they are involved in, but yet chooses to be a part of, will just be used. Especially when they act as if they know and are aware of all aspects. There’s no future there.
In their own mind they are taking a chance. They try to do the best they can, and in the process, they believe that they will learn what they do not know. They may fake that they do, but this belief system is faulty…a waste of time.
To be a person of respectable standards, one should learn to first accept where they stand, not be fake in their ways or lead people on. Being a person of righteousness reflects in all that a person chooses to do. Bad habits and customs are easily spotted by those who have good teachings and principles.
Stand up for what is righteous and what you believe in. Know when you are wrong and have the heart to admit it. Take responsibility for your own actions, don’t drag anyone down with you. Don’t show weakness…you have to know what you’re doing to the full extent. Don’t half step. Don’t half step. Don’t half step…at the end of the day you will be the one who will have to answer for your own actions, for your faults, and for your choices…or lack thereof.
You can choose to get smart now, or suffer later…

My Streets
By Matt Barnes

Shivering in a world that’s extremely too cold…Where friends are pretenders and more deceitful than your foes…Where loyalty get overshadow by jealousy and greed…And ruthlessness is key to survival in the slums we call the streets…In the same streets where peace is considered a sign of weakness…And boasting and bragging is praised rather than meekness…The weak is preyed upon and eventually victimized…And before you know it your worse enemy becomes idle time…Idle time in these streets only adds fuel to the fire…Surrounded by killers, dealers, thieves and liars…And yet you become a product of your environment…Where thuggin is your career and death is your retirement…Welcome to the place I once called home…   

Peace at Last
By Matt Barnes

Yesterday is gone nothing but a distant memory Not bound by its reality Because it holds no power over me I stand here as I am today and forever more Embracing life as it was meant to be While striving to transform my destiny I was always here me  Only obscured by that old mentality Broke free from the bondage that restrained me To become a person of integrity Patience courage kindness empower me To take this person I’ve become back into society And prove I am worthy of immortality Free from the self-destructive thoughts of my past I’ve finally found Peace at last 

Internal Struggle
By Matt Barnes

Slipping into darkness my mind is on its own time…
Don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt alive…
The world is moving past me it all becomes a blur…
So frustrated I want to scream but nothing comes out that can be heard…
I’m stuck in this mental prison trying to break free…
I know its all up to me if I want it to be…
I feel the weight upon my shoulders the struggle is getting real…
Surrounded by concrete and the presence of evil…
I can’t afford to slip back into that mentality…
Got to keep the fight going if I want to succeed…
The reality of my life is a story as old as time…
A fight between good and evil which one will survive…
I’m interested in seeing how this story will end…
Will I be the cause of my own demise or will I final find that peace of mind…

Metamorphosis
By Matt Barnes

I never thought I would be here today…
So much time wasted playing games…
Only one life to live and it’s over in a flash…
Years slipping by like sand through the hourglass…
Why did it take so long to realize that life is precious…
The experiences that I’ve missed had me stressing…
I have to admit it was fun while it lasted…
But there’s so much more than I could even imagine…
Stars in the night sky swimming in the Milky Way…
That will truly take your breath away…
There’s no time left to dwell on the past…
Instead I need to focus on a metamorphosis that will last…

Reality
By Matt Barnes

Lost in a world that’s been turned upside down, darkness spiraling all around…
My mentality can’t comprehend the reality that in actuality the evil we witness is born from ignorance and racist ideologies…
Society is bound to break while screams of frustrations echo through the night and blood flows in the streets…
People forgetting their humanity, consumed by hatred and a false sense of entitlement…
Hate spreading like a disease across generations to engulf the mentality of the masses…
The moment to be woke is at hand…
No longer can we stand by allowing injustice to breed helplessness and disparity…
Overcome with emotion and the passion to take action…
Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate that when you’re kind to others it not only changes you but has the ability to change your environment…

Wake Up Call
By Matt Barnes

The reality of the world today is quite crazy…
I can’t relate to all this insanity…
Constantly trying to corrupt my integrity…
I sit here in disbelief…
As the world around me begins to disintegrate…
I see the pain, destruction and hate…
And underneath everyone can be so fake…
All it takes is a little kindness and faith…
To turn back the hands of time before it’s too late…
We need to focus on making the world a better place…
Piece together the shattered sense of humanity…
And explore a new generation of harmony…
It’s our responsibility to society…
To do all we can to make this a reality…
Got to wake up and see the facts…
Because if things continue to go the way they are it’s going to end up all bad…
Let this serve as a wake up call…
To do your part to extinguish the flames of hate… Remember we are all what we think…