I just wanted to share with you all a poem of sorts that was written by an inmate who is in one of my classes. His story is one that really hit me--it just proved to me that sometimes in life there are people who just have no chance to make it, due to the life they were subjected to as children. As a result, Prison is their destiny.
The Monster
Mutiny, toxic influence, separation of man from logical thought process. A virus that spreads a sickness, a plague that wreaks havoc inside the minds and hearts of not only the detained, but the gatekeepers themselves. In rare cases a cure has been given. In others, the only escape is death. At this moment I am infected, leaving me in a lopsided fight for my life. Never will I return to the days of old. Seeing normalcy in the mirror is now a long shot. My purpose is to take a stand. Arrive in the face of the soul breaker himself; to him I speak these words. You have inspired horror and disgust far exceeding your welcome in my life. Today the battle has begun. It may rage on for years to come, it may bring me to my knees, but God as my witness, I will rein victorious over your wicked ways, your power will be not. I will slay the vicious animal known as the monster.
The "monster" is what we call the inmate sub-culture and the correctional system itself.
I don't really know why, but this "poem" affected me. It made me see how the system is failing so many people. This boy is less than one month older than I am, and has received a 26 year sentence for Robbery. I know what he has done in his past, is not okay--and believe me--I do feel that he does owe a repayment for his wrongs, however, I now realize that prison is not a "cure-all" and that this boy will re-offend because the system is not giving him the necessary skills to succeed. Working in corrections has taught me so many things about life, on both sides of the fence.
I only hope that this young man can overcome his childhood, his adolescence, the system, and the Monster.
