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Orange string is looped around fingers and wrist
Illustration by francescoch on iStock

condemned by my perfidious thoughts
a prison with no bars
fetters of emotional scars
is this life only nought

loneliness has become my solitary
emptiness lies within
held captive by secret sins
lost in the state of purgatory

there is life and there is death
haunted by these voices
bound by ineffable choices
freedom is my last breath

this sentence has become my life
oh wretched man that I am
a prison created by my own hands
I release you from your vice

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.

Raul Gonzales is a poet incarcerated in Texas.