This is Larry Stromberg from SCI Phoenix and this is my poem entitled “Incarcerated.”
Incarcerated
Truth be told, I’ve been incarcerated all of my life in some way.
Abused, beaten, controlled,
Used, confused, and betrayed.
I’ve been incarcerated by my mental health.
Now decades in penitentiary,
The barbed wire, concrete walls
Consuming the days past, present, and the coming beyond.
Incarcerated by my abusers.
Incarcerated by my addictions.
Incarcerated by poverty, by sickness.
Incarcerated by the psychological.
Incarcerated by my betrayers,
By corrupt cops, dishonest lawyers.
Incarcerated by the money-making machine.
Truth is, I incarcerated myself.
Now, fighting for freedom, still bound and caged like a beast,
The remorseful man I truly am.
I look up to the blue skies above for my hope and my redemption.
May the stars at night light my way, my journey.
I choose to look at everything, to look at everything,
Everyone, in the light.
Otherwise, the darkness will kill me, consume me.
In the light, I can see my redemption.
I can feel my hope.
I can feel love.
Working towards a legacy of life
That has an everlasting meaning and a true purpose.
Yes, my body can be incarcerated, but not my spirit,
Not my heart, not my mind, and not my soul.
I am incarcerated, but I can be free.
And in my freedom, I can live on forever.
This is Larry Stromberg at SCI Phoenix. Thank you so much. God bless you all.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
