We’re born with ambition to live, unbeleaguered by time.

Years tick by, counted in birthdays and anniversaries, the years lived before we die.

I waited for the school bell to signal the end of the day; at work, the clock to tell of time to go home.

There was elation at the end of a span of time, confined by school or work, rewarded with time away before going back.

At the age of 63, I’m 26 years in on a life sentence, Death by Incarceration.  I serve perpetual time with no anticipation of end.  

Time is my life. 

No chance to start anew, seasons tick by as staff measure time in shifts and promotions, short-timers make parole, sometimes repeatedly returning.

I could not have imagined how foolishly I would spend precious time, until life would be lost to it.  

Now, it is imperative I mentally venture out to spend time beyond this enclosed space, to live vicariously through 15-minute phone calls.  Television is a gateway to new information, gadgets or tragedy. 

A world I am no longer a part of ebbs and flows through a time that is different than mine, a world where there is no scent of a flower or the sound of bell when walking into a department store.  

Memories now sustain life through time gone by.  Life finds meaning through giving back, that honor may be bestowed on those hurt over time by the life I lived.

Don’t waste the time you’ve been given, make the life you have worth your time. 

ABOUT THE WRITER. Jeffery Shockley has been a contributor to the WITS newsletter and his writing can also be found at Prison Journalism Project, Prison Writers, and Muck Rack. Common themes of his writing reflect what Jeffery shared here, encouraging people to find purpose and making the most of the time one has. If you would like to contact Mr. Shockley, you can do so at:

Jeffery A. Shockley #ES4796
SMART COMMUNICATIONS/PADOC
(SCI MERCER) P.O. Box 330298
St. Petersburg, FL 33733