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Photo by  Ben Maguire  on  Unsplash
Photo by Ben Maguire on Unsplash

You are seen in families from all social, ethnic, racial, educational and religious backgrounds;
You are there in towns, suburbs, rural area, and cities;
Your frequency and severity are equal across the board
Once you get an inch you take a mile.
You rub everyone the wrong way;
You know how to arouse attention;
You are not welcome, nor invited by any;
You have hidden agendas.
I am no longer vulnerable to you
You have no limits, nor show favoritism;
You turned those close to me against me;
You are no different than this coronavirus.

I used you and encountered you in the streets.

You don’t have an excuse for what you did,
You and only you are the blame,
You don’t even have self-control — what made you think
you could control others?
No wonder you are without, I know you inside and out.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Kenneth Moore is an African-American writer and poet. He is the author of the book “Subconscious Poetry” (available at www.PrisonsFoundation.org) and has had one of his poems published in the book “Silent Screams: Poems from Uncharted Territory” by Dr. Unique Shaw-Smith. He is incarcerated in California.