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Two camellia flowers on top of fallen leaves
Photo by Kumiko Shimizu on Unsplash

What you know ’bout
Cornbread stuffin’, and
Pointy-toed dress shoes
up ya ass?
Momma’s chocolate cake, the best
Daddy’s belt, always close —
trying to be a good boy
didn’t never last
Pops stomped on the Sega
and put the Gameboy Color
in the pawnshop
Runnin’ into your arms
Those two love-limbs
Don’t know what to call you
A flower or a tree?
Roots vibrant with fragrance
Petals buried in love

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.

Sabir Shabazz is a poet incarcerated in Colorado. He finds it difficult to imagine fighting harder for anyone more than the people who have loved and supported him during the almost ten years that he has been in solitary confinement.