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Prison walls with bars on top
Photo by Maxim Babichev on Unsplash

Behind these walls
lay dreams of darkness
and pains of hell.

Freedom vanishes,
wrapped in razor wire and iron.

In blood, hate and death,
behind these prison walls
is like the belly of the beast.

We fade like a winter leaf,
blowing away in the wind.

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.

Jeff Murphy is a poet incarcerated in Missouri.