Play Time

By: Jennifer Zukerman

How can we look up
to a system so corrupt?
Watching former presidents
fly by, unscathed,
to give them countless tries?
Meanwhile,
they look down on the little guys?

Take it from me.
Little guy here!
The system has
blood rushing to my ears,
and fed every last fear.

Yet here stay the gears,
plotting and churning,
as I spend the darkest nights,
tossing and turning.
Justice has become jaded,
and all the gears inside
are either
burning or hated.

Jennifer Zukerman (#2080583)

Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women

The First Lie, A Poem

It was that first lie that introduced you to a life of sin,
It was that first lie that broke something deep within;
for when you lie, you deceive yourself, family and friends,
because you have cheated them into never trusting in you again,
because when you cheat – the opposition cannot defend,
because you have stacked the Deck to where only you win,
Therefore, when you cheat you take: though none is the wiser,
now, the silent man within has a criminal for an advisor.
You’re in the big league now -for- when you take you are now labeled a thief,
So welcome yourself to the gateway of criminality of regret and grief.
for, there is no love for what’s has been given birth to by a lie,
these are the A-moral /antisocial questions that approach you when getting high.
As your painless conscience return from its drugged induced abyss,
You welcome the love and hope therein back into your midst.
with the fork in the road of conscience now upon you,
the future of the choice you now make is clearly in view.
So turn your moral clock back and correct those silly Lie’s,
and allow the return of your family and friends smile’s to be your eternal prize.
As you now realize that excuses and lies are for the immature state of mind,
You can now began to cultivate conscience of truth and leave that life behind.
So, welcome yourself back to a life without sin,
Where the Deck is never stacked and we all win.

Submitted By: Alexander Cameron., #1172733
Beaumont Correctional Center
3500 Beaumont Road
Beaumont, Virginia 23014

THE MESSAGE IS ALWAYS CLEAR, A Poem

I, write this poem with an objective in mind,
If the message do not reach your senses that’ll be just fine,
When strangers meet, some depart as friends,
Totally oblivious to the elements within.
When the friendship delivers the road of truth,
We ask ourselves what sign’s did I Miss and who are you.
As we equivocate from the deep emotions inside,
We trick ourselves into sabotaging the precious prize.
The prize that we know should have been,
now float’s aimlessly in the breeze of sin.
As fragments of the precious prize return,
We deepens our conscience in an effort to learn.
For, consequences is a must in the face of the truth,
and excuses are not an option when you deny you.
So, let us be true to ourselves when the truth abounds,
That way the message is always clear and never move’s around.

Submitted by: Alexander Cameron #1172733
Beaumont Correctional Center
3500 Beaumont Road
Beaumont, Virginia 23014

Although Darkness Awaits

BY: D.V. JOHNSON, II

Our vices feed on our flesh,
Feeling so deeply immersed.
Drowning, FIGHTING for one breath,
Our Dreams & Passions we thirst…

All bottled-up suppressed pain,
Cathartic rhythms seep through.
Toxic expectations wane,
Birthing out of these drab blues.

Although darkness awaits us,
Wasted “TIME” will be refrained.
Turning pain, into PURPOSE!
POTENTIAL is now, UNCHAINED.

***DVJ’s Author Note: This piece, “ALTHOUGH DARKNESS AWAITS…..” was inspired by a writing assignment given in Virginia Tech Center for Humanities UNCHAINED Program held at River North Correctional Center. If you are have not read James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” you should. It provides our families/support systems a refined perspective into potential struggle we may face when re-entering society after being incarcerated.
Whether we battle/battled with substance abuse, alcoholism, mental illness and/or any other issues, that Darkness will still await us if/when we rejoin society.
I wrote “ALTHOUGH DARKNESS AWAITS…..” to let you know that you are not alone… To try to positively influence at least one person to Believe in their Potential to succeed in making the best possible use of their “TIME” they are serving.
Let’s ensure we prepare ourselves for whatever darkness may await…

Humbly,
D.V. JOHNSON, II (#1937011)

THE LAST CRIME, A Poem by Alexander Cameron

Be the first person to commit the last crime,
While in the midst of making a honest dime – and –
Don’t sweat the thought’s that visit you from the sidelines – but –
rather sweat the troubling thought’s of doing hard time -and-
don’t get caught up in evils glitter games and scheme’s,
simply because your friends played the game for a nice ride and some serious bling .
So, as jealousy and envy pervades your thoughts,
Hold true to your integrity, because real man can’t be brought.
Therefore, as you stay strong and squeaky clean,
You’ll never have to witness Ms Karma, lay waste to your precious dreams.
So, as wisdom continue to teach: wrong can never be right,
the truth always take back what’s hers no matter how vicious the fight.
So, as you continue to learn from the failure’s of your missing friends,
Remember, it was that flash in the pan that introduced them to their end.
So, keep that smile on your face as you make it through your Teens and in – Betweens.
as you understand it was your Mother’s love that protected your dream’s.
So, relax a little in the lap of knowing your future will be just fine -but-
Always remember you made it through because you were the first person to commit the last crime.

Alexander Cameron

Survival of the Fittest, A Poem

How can you hear through all the violence?
when there’s so much silence?!
Screaming out to have a voice
in a system that gives you no choice.
Breaking beyond to make a change
and rearrange to prove we aren’t deranged.
Reach out and speak up. Engage.
Try to get voters on the same page,
channel the rage and strive for justice,
November 7th is our day,
and may the odds forever be in your favor.

My name is Jennifer Zukerman. (2080583) I’m currently housed at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. I’m trying to spread the word and help get votes up and its so hard to do that by being in here. I have tried my best and hoping for the best possible outcome.

Mental Health, Hopelessness, Depression, and Despair: You Are Not the Sin.

MENTAL HEALTH IS THE TOPIC,
NOW ALLOW ME TO ROCK IT.

Mental Health, Hopelessness, Depression and Despair, you are not the sin,
You are sometimes just misunderstood on your acceptance as a friend.
Mental Health is a friend and guide to help you heal inside,
She’s not evil’s prize come to take you to the other side.
Relax’s and understand Hopelessness is just a distant relative of despair,
Introducing you to hard times, so you can find out who you are.
Depression is no more than an emotion trapped inside of an illusion,
Expressing an array of feelings while searching for a conclusion.
But first things first, allow me to introduce Myself,
My name is “Alexander Cameron,” and of course you are Mental Health,
My vernacular is very sharp and cunning, How about yourself?
Mental Telepathy is how I roll, I think y’all call it Top Shelf!
Well, Mr. Top Shelf, Gun Violence has you labeled as a crisis,
Pay attention my son, its called politicians making sacrifices,
Y’all call it splitting hairs, we call it word splices,
You know, that lip service, that has you and yours on drugs and reaching for vices.
Check it: Japan say Guns on the streets are just simply dumb,
Her deaths through gun violence in 2022 is absolutely none,
Now, America, you know you are just too through,
Death’s through gun violence has you at Four Hundred Fifty Thousands in the year 2022.
America’s relationship with Mental Health knows no truth,
Mental Health, you are expendable and less than an excuse,
At lease there’s a silver lining, you are not responsible for the youth,
Who has their parents turning back the clock, looking for a clue,
To free their kid’s from this paranoid maze of deceit,
That has their minds trapped in what appears to be certain defeat;
Listen Children;
Your problems are yours to confront, but first you must understand,
No life is without problems, they go hand in hand.
Ultimately your problems are yours to face and yours to Solve,
Excuses are for cowards, get yourself Involved.
Some problems are easy peesy and some are very
hard,
but, its only when you try solving them, that you can tell yourself Good Job.
So, America, let us all give Mental Health her due: because;
No one is responsible for your happiness but you and only you.

Submitted By:

Alexander Cameron
# 1172733

Beaumont Correctional Center
3500 Beaumont Road
Beaumont, Virginia 23014

Captive, A Poem

don’t go turning sour
just because you’re around someone with power
the man of the hour
sitting in his fancy chair
in his fancy office, like some big tall tower
while robbing everyone bare
the system never plays fair
it gives us all gray hairs
leads us astray
trying to mold us like clay
to play their little games
blames us, its all our fault
but its all a result
of them trying to keep us in check
keeping their foot on our necks.

My name is Jennifer Zukerman. I’m currently at Fluvanna correctional center in Virginia.
This is my first incarceration and I got caught up in a very bad crowd that led me here. I’m glad to say that I’ve used this time to better myself and really analyze my decision making. I’ve found myself in my writing/ poetry. I really love to write and hopefully publish a book one day.

A Poem: “If Never, Forever”

If ever our lives and minds free our hearts and souls,

Will you dance with me to their rhythm…
and sing with me their song?

If ever our fears and scars relent,
free of lament…

Will you brave the abyss with me
and give me respite upon your shores?

If ever the rains stop falling and the clouds dissipate,

Will you spend the night awing with me over starry seas,

And ride the breeze through trembling leaves of whispering trees?

If ever your eyes see me here,
down on my knees,
this blood on my hands,
oath on my lips,
cheeks wet with tears,

Will you lift me into your fire,
and fill the air with smoke and ash of burnt desire?

If forever ever ends,

Will you never let me know… never let me go…

And, with each new dawning day,
only ever say a hushed ‘hello’?

-Bernie Ranson, Lawrenceville Correctional

Background: I recently wrote this for my ex, but she filed for divorce before I could send it… I think it might illustrate the longing and yearning experienced by so many effected by the division and separation of prison – both inside and out.

A Poem: I Still Wasn’t FREE

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I pray that you and your loved ones are well, and I pray that The Creator continues to bless you with the strength and the passion to continue fighting the good fight for us all. My Government is Timothy Terry, but my true attribute is Tyro Imhotep Na’Mapenzi, and I have been behind the wall for twenty years. Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I will always do what I can to add on to what you all are doing for us in the name of true Liberation. Please accept my submission that expresses what FREEDOM means to me. I pray that my words are able to ignite at least one soul. Thank you for giving me an outlet, and I hope to hear from you soon. Peace and Blessings to you.

From every mountainside, let FREEDOM ring –
For us…for me…
What does FREEDOM mean?
FREEDOM means life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all –
Except those who fall…
For a portion of their lives behind the proverbial wall –
Then it becomes U.S. vs. “y’all”.
Take away my name, and expect me to respond to whatever I’m called…like a dog.
A lost cause?
Naw! Because even though the Beast clamped me in its jaws, I refuse to sit –
And rot in the belly of this Beast – only to come out the other end as a piece of s#it.
FREEDOM is a state of being, a new way of seeing –
Me, myself, and I…
And why –
I am…strong enough to defy the gravity of a few lines –
Describing a crime that fails to define;
How my diligent effort over time has refined my state of mind.
Forged by solitude and deep depression –
…and a want to do better…
Self-reflection, honest introspection, inspecting
Every corner and crevice of my attic
Longing to be more than some recovering drug addict –
Who had it all but took it for granted.
See, when I was out there on the street
I still wasn’t FREE –
Because I tried to snort every line of coke and smoke every tree –
Trying to flee to any retreat I believed would get me…
Away from … me.
For the only reality I could see appeared to be –
A dead E-N-D.
So I craved to be released…
Only to find that true FREEDOM does not begin –
On the outside, but starts from from within.
FREEDOM means being strong enough to take a stance and give/
Yourself a chance to live.
Redemption can only be found in the most unusual places/
Through the most unlikely of cases –
Change is inevitable, so I choose embrace it/
And whatever is sacrificed for the sake of growth, I realize something better will always replace it.
No more bondage, no more oppression/
No more stinkin’ thinkin’, or penned-up aggression/
No more need for me to remain in the custody of a department who doesn’t know a damn thing about corrections.
FREEDOM means being able to enjoy the best things in life/
FREE at home with my children and my wife/
With no extra hype or unwarranted stereotypes.
FREE to move throughout the country from state to state –
FREE to breathe fresh air without having to wait.
Speaking of ‘weight’, FREEDOM is the boss of the bench press –
Because FREEDOM is strong enough to lift the weight of oppression from my chest.
So I can finally rest without having to stress/
About what unknown personality will be my bunkee next?

Tyro Imhotep Na’Mapenzi
(T. Terry) #1139218
Baskerville Correctional Center