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Illustration by Harold Wesley

The answer to being truly free is when you use the key to unlock the padlocks in your brain, to bring full enlightenment. 

I call this piece “Searching for the Key.” This is how I feel sometimes, how people in my situation feel. We wait and we pray. We pray and we wait for that moment when the waiting is over. 

I cannot wait. I must fight and continue to be used by God who sustains me and holds me to a higher standard. My hope is to never give up. I will keep pushing and trusting in something greater than myself. 

Even in the darkest of moments, I will shine and shine bright like this key. So don’t cry when you see me in this thing called prison. Smile that I made it out to enjoy my freedom.

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.

Harold Wesley is a writer and poet who wants to share his voice with the world. He is incarcerated in California.