Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Three deer walk through lightly fallen snow.
Photo by Andyworks on iStock

Light, fluffy snowfall.
O deers, we spot you through the
jail windows, do you?

First day of April —
alas, the songbirds are up,
their sweet melodies!

A hearty trilling
waltz through the windows, like a
Chopin concerto!

How does the sky look?
A suicide-watch inmate asks.
Like a — a painting.

Twilight, half-darkness.
Four birds, without any haste,
wind up their quartet …

Small, mauve wildflowers
sprout around a drainage hole,
brightening the lawn.

A young, hale groundhog
transfixes at the sunset,
munching on something …

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.

Rāmdev is a poet incarcerated in Pennsylvania.