Poetic Fragments from Prison - October 1996
I couldn't find an October photo, so here's one from 12 July 1996,
taken in the visiting room at Marion Correctional Institution
In October 1996 I marked the three-year anniversary of my incarceration - and I had no idea it would be nearly eight more years before I saw freedom. This is a continuation of my blog Poetic Fragments from Prison 1997. As I said there, these fragments come from a notebook called Indy Cent Exposure. I believe these were seeds I intended to nurture and grow into something later, but then abandoned and forgot. Anyway, for curiosity's sake, here's another sampling. Don't laugh too hard....
S'T'RAIN, p. 1
[1 October 1996, c. 11:55 p.m.]
In bed
I wonder
if the south central rain will ever stop falling
Night never sleeps
Velvet satin
Shafts of light
Bidden good day
And I wander
where the stars rarely twinkle
Life is a wrinkle
Lightning rises to the occasion
As limbo lingers in the wings
And I wonder
how the sun and rain balance
am I falling
* * *
DON'T NEED A WEATHERMAN, p. 10
[Sat. 5 Oct. 1996, 9:55 a.m.]
As the wind wanes
And the forecasters complain
I hold my head
Above the waves
And pray
My lover
To you
As storms arise
With fiery eyes
And beat belief into a pulp
I hold my chin
Steady
In the line of fire
And prophesy
For the one true God
Love
* * *
PEACE IN QUEUES, p. 12
[Sun. 6 Oct. 1996, 10:05 p.m.]
Pralines in
Eden,
Apples in
Cream,
Ecstasy
In small packages,
Nursing a dream,
Queer little ripple
Under the skin,
Elated by nougat,
Urgent and thin —
Eat life,
Speak food.
* * *
NEVER SAY EVER, p. 16
[Tues. 8 October 1996, 11:30 p.m.]
Water
never
melts
* * *
EVER, p. 22
[Tues. 22 October 1996, 11:30 p.m.]
You will not accept my call
And I'm breathless
Dizzy
Undone
Your words of devotion are choked
By a noose of insecurity
And I am speechless
Broken
Wan
I thought my nightmare had ended
But as the dawn broke
You turned out the sun
Tore down my rainbow
Made me dizzy
Undone
Broken
Wan
Yet I love you
Fight these tears
And abandon forever
My poetry
I don't think anyone would laugh.. I didn't ... a few of these are really good.. and worth pulling up to the light of day.
I think "Ever" is very good .. I felt it when I read it... being where you are now you might want to change it if you felt you wanted to... but I think is a keeper.. as is... its a good poem.
I know when I read of my own a bit after I've written them they don't seem very good. But when someone else reads them fresh with new eyes it breathes life back into them. THe read them with out the judgments we place on our own work.
I also like "Peace and Queues"... it could be expanded a little perhaps.. It actually feels like the start of an idea for something a bit larger.. but I liked it too.
I'd like to ask about the picture... always like background stories..
And also a little more as to how come you didn't know you'd be there another 8 yrs.? Is it because you where hoping your case would be appealed or someone would come forward?
You may have mentioned this in a prior blog but I don't remember.
Thanks...
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I don't recall now if this was before or after my appeal fell through - I'd have to look it up - but I was expecting to see the parole board in 1998, and my judge at sentencing had led me to believe I would likely be released at that time if my appeal did not free me sooner.
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Hear Hear...I agree with Chris..I cannot fathom anyone laughing. And Elena is right--your work is touching.
And I
with my fresh eye,
sit
certainly without judgement
and CRY.
~Peace~Anne
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Thank you, Chris and Anne!
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Sorry for some of the typos... I haven't had enough coffee yet.
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Your ability to write then and now has kept you creating with all the problems
and setbacks you have had in your life.
These poems are very touching and I hope you realize that your talent for words had made you what you are today...
A SURVIVOR!! I have kept all your letters from prison so I realize this...
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I probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of little abandoned fragments like these. And every so often, i will go back through them, looking for a particular image or line, or I'll find something that will end up sparking something new.
It's always very cleansing to go back and see where your mind was in a different time and to juxtapose it to where you are now. And I'm sure that given the situation in which you wrote THESE particular journals, it's probably even moreso a self-revealing experience.
Take care.
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I had forgotten about this pic. I didn't have a copy of this one. It brings back a lot of memories.
These poems go straight to my heart. I have never read these before. I can't say I have a favorite due to the circumstances in which they were written, but your talent is evident.
I'm glad we survived those days....
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