Posted inPoetry

All Boxed In

by Ladrina Johnson May 3, 2021February 21, 2022

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All Boxed In

by Ladrina Johnson, Prison Journalism Project
May 3, 2021

<h1>All Boxed In</h1>
<p class="byline">by Ladrina Johnson, Prison Journalism Project <br />May 3, 2021</p>
 
<p>HOW DO I GROW IN A BOX?<br />Grow inwards, not out.<br />Gain wisdom and knowledge,<br />And your inner being will sprout.</p>
</p>
<p>HOW DO I LIVE IN A BOX?<br />Don’t waste precious energy<br />Trying to knock the walls flat.<br />Have faith they will fall,<br />Leaving your sanity intact.</p>
</p>
<p>HOW DO I FIGHT IN A BOX?<br />Keep your head down,<br />Blend in with the mud.<br />Don’t cry even a little<br />Or your small space will flood.</p>
</p>
<p>HOW DO I LOVE IN A BOX?<br />Start with yourself,<br />Though it may not be easy to do.<br />Put yourself above all else —<br />If you don’t, then who?</p>
</p>
<p>HOW DO I LEARN IN A BOX?<br />Count the bricks that contain you,<br />Multiply ideas in your mind.<br />Read deep into your past,<br />Subtract days from your time.</p>
</p>
<p>HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BOX?<br />I find myself contained within four walls<br />For being labeled criminally askew.<br />I am truly yours in the struggle,<br />Trying to survive my box, too.</p>


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HOW DO I GROW IN A BOX?
Grow inwards, not out.
Gain wisdom and knowledge,
And your inner being will sprout.

HOW DO I LIVE IN A BOX?
Don’t waste precious energy
Trying to knock the walls flat.
Have faith they will fall,
Leaving your sanity intact.

HOW DO I FIGHT IN A BOX?
Keep your head down,
Blend in with the mud.
Don’t cry even a little
Or your small space will flood.

HOW DO I LOVE IN A BOX?
Start with yourself,
Though it may not be easy to do.
Put yourself above all else —
If you don’t, then who?

HOW DO I LEARN IN A BOX?
Count the bricks that contain you,
Multiply ideas in your mind.
Read deep into your past,
Subtract days from your time.

HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BOX?
I find myself contained within four walls
For being labeled criminally askew.
I am truly yours in the struggle,
Trying to survive my box, too.

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Ladrina Johnson

Ladrina Johson is a writer and beekeeper incarcerated in Georgia.

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