Prison Poem

Our group from Calvin Seminary returned from Louisiana on Friday night.  We spent the week at Angola State Penitentiary ("The Farm") near Baton Rouge, LA.  We had an incredible trip to say the least.  Angola is a maximum security facility on a large plot of land, housing over 5000 inmates.  One sad fact that we learned was that 85% of the population of Angola St. Pen. will die in prison.  Certainly, a unique feature of Angola is their prison news magazine - called The Angolite.  One of the inmates we encountered was a writer for the magazine and he supplied us with four separate copies of The Angolite.  The following poem is from the January/February 2010 issue of The Angolite.

I AM A PRISON

I am a prison - I am damp and I am cold

I hold people who are young and old

I am surrounded by fences and gates that have locks

And my walls are all made of concrete blocks

I am a prison - I am feared by all

I'll give you a chill when you hear me call

Your name becomes a number - your face becomes just another

I'll show you no pity - I'm not your mother

I am a prison - designed to be rough

I am where society houses its tough

Nobody has beat me - though many have tried

But mostly they all still remain inside

I have no answers so don't ask me why

I put those tears in your children's eyes

I am a prison - where nobody wants to be

I confine people who were once free

I control their pace - I slow down their pride

Like animals that you might put in a cage

I contain these people and watch them age

I am prison - I am full of despair

I can be a person's worst nightmare

I've been here many years and will be many more

You'll recognize me by my slamming doors

I am a prison - a place you don't want to live

I've so much to take but nothing to give

But there is one who does - and he hears all of your pleas

So pray to the Lord Jesus for only he has the keys

by Dale Lechuga #519366