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Person under the water
Photo by Bash Fish on Unsplash

Where eva’ you from, whateva’ you done
You could really flip the script son, old or young …
Stand in the mirror, face ya’ self
Mask off, sledgehammer, just break ya’ self
Take them broken pieces — remake ya’ self
A lotta bro’s on the shelf, don’t play ya’ self
Keep ten toes deep up in the transformation
Stay a mental slave — or you could save ya’ self
Like straight drown a wishin’ well, face first I fell
No rope, no ladder — oh well …
Sell me whateva’ dreams these drones project
Clone me, METAversally a throne — protect me
Like a King, rhyme fiend, I see it in color
Rule book’s black ’n’ white — but life’s gray, no wonder
These summers stay covered up by fallen leaves
Metaphorically my allegories bleed
Low key needs every year lost given back to me
Bold — two-fold, turn a tragedy …
Into a fool’s gold teachable moment — real talk
Might could, escalate, top floor, moonwalk
To da’ edge a da’ world, now my vision 360
Ghostwrite if the straightjacket fit me right
Might seem, kinda 5150, psych!
Swan dive into the asphalt — ask me like …
“Should I really care what you think of me? Like poor me?”
Pour some more a’ me — drink, what the taste be like?
I see right through every so-called facade
On God, let there be light …

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.

Ghostwrite Mike is a writer incarcerated in California. He writes under a pen name.