This is Larry Stromberg, and my poem today is called “Facing the Prison Demons.”
Facing The Prison Demons
Every day, every night,
The demons come and torment the incarcerated.
The sounds, the noises.
These demons come in many forms.
Memories of the past.
The ghosts that terrorized.
The abuse I took as an innocent child.
The agonizing guilt that consumes the soul within.
The crime that put me in the cage.
The monsters in the system.
This includes staff.
Tell your scars and inmate predators in the twist,
As the days, years, decades, keep on rolling,
So does the devil’s agents in penitentiary.
I’ve seen it.
I’ve experienced it.
Hell, I faced it.
I fought against it.
Yes, I’m still standing in the fire,
Riding the emotional tides of pain
From our horrible choices
That brought me to this hell hole.
So, I keep on fighting against the beast.
I face the demons that come my way.
Pray, I believe and dream for a better tomorrow.
I ask for forgiveness for my past sins
That hurt so many, hurt myself.
I try to improve on my mental health
So demons can’t invade my mind no more
With painful thoughts.
I choose to forgive.
Forgive all those who abuse and betrayed me.
Hope in the end I can forgive myself.
Once I finally do that,
The demons will die in my mind
And I can be finally free.
Free, free, free.
Yes, finally free.
Larry Stromberg, SCI Phoenix, thank you so much.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
