Prison
I remember
Tijuana twinkling in the distant night,
guard towers, barbed wire and a harsh yellow light
dissolving shadows in every possible place,
exposing the dread on every new face
and a strong ocean scent blowing through the tension
the night I was sent to Donovan state prison.
And I remember
long days and longer nights,
degradations and savage sights.
Rivers of blood, thick and wide,
a black man staggering with a knife in his side.
A gentle man beaten down,
innocent and guilty dragged away bound.
Cruel dentists and doctors without heart,
rumor-spreading guards hoping to start
conflict and hate between one race and another,
snitches who’d rat on their own mother.
Set ups and pretenses to share
but most of all, my inability to care
and no one is spared this particular thing,
despite how they laugh and sometimes sing.
Despite the camaraderie within each race,
there’s a harder heart behind every hard face.
I remember it all
so perfectly clear
and though it’s all over,
it’ll always be here.
~~
3/92
Dave Holloway
Washington, U.S.A.
Dave Holloway on "Poems":
http://groups.google.ca/groups/profile?enc_user=Z4F7khEAAAAe6niV49nh7S7NHZKHFP2ukdEasx1kiYTQavV7mdW13Q
Dave Holloway on Moondustwriter's Blog:
http://moondustwriter.com/
[All rights reserved by the author - Used with permission]
go to http;//moondustwriter.webs.com to read more of this poet's work
ReplyDeleteThanks George for highlighting so many of us
I didn't realise Dave was guest writing on your blog, Leslie. I see he's the top poem on the main page today, so I added that page to his credits. I see he's not your only guest writer, too; you're doing your part to highlight new talent, too. It's great that there are so many writing on usenet, now, and finding new ways to reach their audience.
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