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A black metal fence stretches away in the horizon.
Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

The yard is a prison and the time is fallow.
There are workout bars here
Strong steel bars worn smooth by sunburned hands
These bars are divisive because …
          Just because.
This is the land where just because
Abides and roams and thrives
And invades and conquers the hearts of men
So that wisdom and community and courage
Have been exiled, excommunicated, excised
From the body of man
And these bars that divide just because
Keep three quarters of men away
And like wisdom and community and courage,
They dare not approach.
But there are geese here.
Big, confident geese.
They abide and roam and thrive here too.
They approach and even cross through all the bars here
The geese are courageous and united
And maybe even wise.
Do they know that the name of this prison
Like all prisons since the beginning of time is
          Just because?
That unlike them the men here
Divide themselves
Like all men since the beginning of time
          Just because?

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.

Cesar Suarez is a writer and poet incarcerated in California.