This is Larry Stromberg from SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania. This is my poem “A Free Mind.”
A Free Mind
Waking up at 3 a.m. in prison
In cold sweats
Mind racing and screaming in the darkness.
Feeling the hopelessness so overwhelming,
Praying for a second chance for redemption.
The days roll on,
Round and round we go
The wheel of life arrives,
Trying to stay above the waters of depression
As the days, years, and decades pile on.
Smothering regret, loss,
Grief, shame, remorse, and sorrow.
Wishing to change the past.
I can’t.
Nobody can.
The past can’t be changed.
It’s written history.
So, I live in a misery.
I pray for repentance,
Pleading for forgiveness from the Creator above.
Even in my sorrow, I try to improve my condition,
With faith, education,
With the arts.
A step by step process.
Deliverance in the chaos.
Striving for a free mind in a dungeon.
I need to stay in this mindset.
Anything else will kill me from the stress.
I must forgive myself so my spirit can soar,
Be free as an eagle by my gift of writing.
The free mind is true freedom indeed.
Freedom out in society or locked up
I can have a free mind.
We can have a free mind.
We can be free in our minds.
Thank you. Larry Stromberg, SCI Phoenix. God bless you.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
