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Photo by JR Korpa on Unsplash. Edited by Jillian Wesner

I’ve
worked hard
to
wear these prison
greens
bonnaroo down
brogans
spit-shined
greens
ironed to a razor-edge
I’m
the man with the tatted-face
missing
that jade-eyed woman
putting
in the work
doing
dirt
swallowing
bitter fruit
dancing
in the emerald-haze
of
this man-made
abyss
with these prison greens.

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.

Soy Ink is a writer incarcerated in Colorado. He writes under a pen name.