Hi, my name is Robert Neibler and the name of my piece is, “My Material.”
It beats. I breathe. I rise.
As I search this world for meaning and my shining light still
I rewind to my green mind and come forth with nil
Such a surprise, the surmise, what this inkwell spills for the
True mic when I’m blue like its red heartbeat’s quill
It’s graphite and ink that dances in my veins
All this heartbroken two-step weaves is word-shaped stains
While waiting for these stains to tell me who I’m supposed to be
I stumbled onto poetry and meaning found me
So it beats. I breathe. I rise.
As lines resonating in minds who didn’t know it
So punchlines hit soft like timid poets
‘Cause you sit back and let the impact seep in the mind with time
So rewind as minds and resonating lines rhythmic as rhyme I
Rise as time passes past time
‘Cause it’s all they got to pass
Down to those who look up like they’re fallen in the grass while He’s reaching out a hand
‘Cause I can pass along his knowledge but I can’t make you understand His words the teachers teach you
To be honest, it’s poetic phonics preachers preach to you
And truthfully it rings true so humbly I beseech you
Take this time to discern this line for His words are my material so all my paint could do is shine
And nouns and verbs is what I bleed and if it beats, I breathe, I rise
As recollections of imperfections are sheltered in subconscious mind
For success is what rests in the boroughs of chests and it’s beating in rhythm with time
It’s words and it’s beats and it’s freedom it seeks
So I take them and shape them with lines
With pain that indicts and emotion and rights and veridical verbiage I shine
It beats. I breathe. I rise.
It beats. I breathe. I rise.
I rise with insight cause I breathe in His light know His heart is in rhythm with mine
For my sins of the past He’s forgave and at last I’m free to live out His design
For rainclouds they pass and it’s shining like glass as I praise my grateful, our Christ
And as long as He’s there, His wisdom I share
As it beats. I breathe. I rise.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
![Prison Radio is sharing an abbreviated version of a press release covering recent racist incidents at SCI Rockview in PA and the organizing to demand accountability. We are reaching out to people incarcerated at Rockview as well as recently transferred folks, inviting them to call, in hopes of hearing commentaries from them.
Benner Township, PA.-
On November 24th, 2023, imprisoned people at SCI Rockview found two nooses hanging in the CO’s office, displayed visibly for many prisoners to see. When the prisoners asked the staff why the nooses were hung, they were told it was a joke.
By December 4th, prisoners filed a grievance to document what they saw, noting that the hanging of the nooses was “unethical, racially motivated, hateful, [a] deliberate debasement of black inmates" and “unsafe for inmates, staff, [and] the whole prison in general.” In the grievance, they demanded that Sgt. Mosser and CO Richard be fired and investigated for a hate crime, and for CO Kirchner to get therapy. Captain Andrews, the head of security, denied the grievance.
The sergeant and COs are still working in the prison to this day, with no repercussions...
As of March 10th, prisoners have reached out to Pennsylvania officials at the Dept. of Corrections in a letter campaign, sending 100 copies of the grievance. Copies of the letter also were mailed to Governor Shapiro, Senator Fetterman, Senator Street, and various advocacy groups. The demands for relief in the original grievance have now become the platform of demands for this campaign. About 20 of the 100 letters were withheld by the prison.
Activists on the outside are joining forces with prisoners to elevate their demands, flooding the phone lines of DOC offices, assisting with outreach to media, and circulating the stories of prisoners who have found unity in opposition to the facility's virulent institutional racism.
In any other workplace, hanging a noose would be grounds for immediate termination. However, Nicki Paul, the superintendent's assistant and "grievance coordinator" informed the public that they self-investigated their staff and found they did nothing wrong.
Read the full article at i
https://conta.cc/4ayDxlB](https://www.prisonradio.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)