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A rundown prison guard tower
Photo by Steve Mays (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)

they call me intruder
they call me invader
illegal I’m called
their words utter violence
their hearts fill with hatred
I’m in their sights
I’m just a number
they see me like that
just an example
for the war on crime
a simple tool of the state
to support the prison guards
it wasn’t like that
just a few years back
when they used me for labor
and also for wars
then quickly they stopped me
when I tried to fly
they didn’t want me to break
the glass in the sky
what’s going to stop me?
depends on the interpretation
the perception of my mind
is it a stepping stone?
or a stumbling block?
when I encounter
a rock on the road

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.

Biktor B. is a writer and published poet incarcerated in California. He writes under a pen name,