“Dead Man Walking,” by Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr
Dead man walking
That’s why I’m talking.
Trying to educate,
To eliminate the hate
And rid so many men of a terrible fate.
Killing our citizens, watching them die,
This is what I’m here to testify.
Yet this here, I don’t deny.
Some should never, never be free,
But the death penalty should not be
For mistakes can be made,
And the ultimate price paid.
For when an innocent life is lost,
That is surely the ultimate cost.
And we can never, never be sure
If we’re killing the guilty or just the poor.
#
This one’s “Suicidal Thoughts,” by Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr.
Suicidal Thoughts
I’m kept in a cell like I got a disease,
Left with my suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
For this year, I often find that suicides
weighing on my mind.
For I can’t see a whole lot of hope.
So, suicidal thoughts is the way I cope.
Fear of death or just the unknown?
No, my fear is being left behind steel and stone.
So, at night, I often, often pray that death will come, come today,
And suicide won’t be my final way.
Yes, I’m kept in a cell like I got a disease,
Left with my suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
#
This poem here is called “Death Row.” It was my very first poem written in 1999.
“Death Row,” by Ronald Wayne Clark Jr.
Death Row is a place where a man is disgraced,
Were flies don’t land and birds don’t sing,
Where there’s no love for anything.
Where one seeks love but cannot find,
For people truly feel we are a waste of time.
So, you sit in your cage day after day
And watch your life waste away.
You have no hopes,
You have no dreams,
You have no meaning,
It surely seems.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
