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Aging in prison can be a long journey
Photo by Jordan Wozniak on Unsplash

Looking beyond the break of this day
The whispers of tomorrow calling
Asking my Lord for a better way
The strength to keep from falling.
The journey long, tedious of time
Learned patience on the way
Today’s pains that daily remind
Getting older, turning gray.
Prison? Just some place to be
When unable to comply
Standards set to remain free
Hard headed, I’d ask “but why?”
Years of time passed on by
Still, many more to be done
Within each moment is my try
Change another’s life, if just one.
Looking beyond the break of this day
The haunting of yesterday calling
Asking my Lord, I pray …
The strength to keep from falling.

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.

Jeffery Shockley is a writer incarcerated in Pennsylvania.