Memories
By Horace Thomas
I miss standing on the corner
While the sky pours rain
The smell of fresh air
Water flowing down the drain…
The sound of raindrops
Falling upon the ground
It’s magical listening
To its sound…
The sky is beautiful
The clouds are near
Life is that moment
We all revere…
Every moment of life
Can sometimes be a spectacle
The mind with memories
Like a receptacle…
Gutter of Sin
By Horace Thomas
67 years
Was the judge’s decision
Would I live to get out
Or rot in a prison?
Back behind the walls
Where I’d be stuck
Determination would get me out
Not a whim or luck!
I felt numb
Warehoused in the tomb
I wanted another chance
To crawl back into the womb!
What had I done
To be caught up and twisted?
Why did I deserve
To be falsely convicted?!
So I sat in a cell
At an all time low
My future uncertain
And life full of woe!
The only way I’d survive
Was to pull myself together
Or I’d be sitting in prison
For what seem like forever!
During my post-conviction
Issues were raised
But not enough
To have my liberty saved!
The final decision
Didn’t change much
Just knocked off 8 years
Appellate procedures and such!
I researched my issues
When I didn’t have a clue
Preparing myself
For the right thing to do!
Slowly but surely
In time I’d learn
With enough effort
Things could take a turn!
I sat in Folsom prison
Getting my head together
In the worst of times
Even under the weather!
Each time I tried
My petitions were rejected
This negative impact
I found unaccepted!
A lot of hard work
Was put in effect
Work that would pay off
And I wouldn’t regret
Trial and error
I didn’t give up
I had already had
A brush with bad luck!
In between my struggle
I was thrown in segregation
It was all good though
Further degradation!
When that didn’t stop me
They put me back on the yard
And back in the hole
Making my time hard!
I learned real fast
I was singled out
The game the prison played
What they were all about!
I had to love myself
And never stop!
Putting one foot in front of the other
And never drop!
They recognized my ambition
Desire to succeed
Piles of paperwork
How I continued to proceed!
In a last ditch effort
They buried me in the hole!
But still I saw the light
And reached for my goal!
After my hole time
I hit the general population
With the gang members and gangsters
Making preparations…
Pelican Bay prison
The end of the road
Where violence controlled the yard
Where the system unloads…
The worst of the worst
This includes staff
No exceptions
All were a part of the wrath!
Everything about the place
Made survival slim
All the news society heard
Was sad and very grim…
The people that worked there
Were much like the men
In the bowels of a city
Within a gutter of sin!
Racial riots
Thunder storms
Pig’s running
At the sound of an alarm…
Inmates were afraid
Motivated by fear
Unable to control their emotion
Forced to live here!
They couldn’t break me
By selective housing in the system
And repeated failure
To make me a victim!
Next on the agenda
Was cover up false reports
The district attorney
Refused to take me to court!
No more mainline
I became obsolete
Their play in motion
Execution complete!
Only the beginning
Of the lies and deceit to come
A taste of politics
The damage was done!
I was ready
Holding back restraint
I exercised my first amendment right
Initiating complaints!
Time and again
I threw up a roadblock
They teamed upon me
With crafty plots!
I continued my struggle
Getting creative
Using my head
Being innovative…
Don’t Travel This Path
By Horace Thomas
I was young once
Now I am 44
At a young age I walked through
The system’s revolving door…
I started out in a juvenile hall
Thought I was a cool cat
Trying to live a tough lifestyle
Thinking I was all that…
I didn’t think about the future
Or about my father
Or the grief and pain
I caused my mother…
I didn’t think about my family
Thought I was bad and cold
At the time I didn’t realize
I was playing a role…
By the time I woke up
It was too late
I ended up in a prison
A penalty from fate…
Now four decades later
My advice to you
Is there are severe consequences
For the wrong that you do…
You can play bad boy
And she can play bad girl
But think about all the freedom
And adventure in the world…
Think about the park
Animals in the zoo
How life in society
Is so much a part of you…
Everything you do
There’s a price to pay
Don’t; let crime
Stand in your way…
I know you say yeah!
Who is this fool!?
He’s trying to tell us
About being cool!!
I didn’t learn my lesson
I even ditched school
I was a 14/k
Hope to die fool…
No I didn’t want to hear it
I never shut my mouth
Nobody could tell me nothing
Or what life was all about…
Oh! I was ready to chunk ‘em
And didn’t know how to fight
I got beat down plenty of times
Before I saw the light
When I did learn to fight
I got really good
Thought I could whip everybody
In the neighborhood…
Yes I been there done that
In and out of juvenile hall
Things got too bad
I kept my back against the wall…
To make a long story short
I made very bad decisions
Didn’t; think about my freedom
I started doing time in prison…
Now I don’t have a family
They have all since died
But I could have been there for them
If I had opened my eyes…
So please young people
Don’t travel this path
It’s a life of misery
And constant wrath!
Rot
By Horace Thomas
Lavish nights
In your cell
While you rot
And die in hell…
Heartless guards
Who carry the keys
They will quickly beat you
To your knees…
It’s a game
Of life and death
Even your soul
Is under arrest!
It’s a fight few will win
But a fight
That must begin!
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