what is prison really like?
she asks…so I muse…

it is stale breath
in chow lines
crammed behind vikings who
haven’t showered in months

or…racial divides
like lawmakers
fistfights over what to watch
street outlaws vs love & hip hop
MAGA vs #BLM
acronyms of the violence
we kill to view
acronyms of the society
we thought we once knew

in this zoo
hallways twist in a maze
leading past a monkey’s cage
fronted by plexiglas that displays
thieves = chimps
rapists = orangutans
killers = gorillas 
broken men who fall here
only to be broken again 

in a pool of blood
from a shank’s puncture wound 
seeping out like the hope
left in courtrooms

yet…it can be an awakening
of the spirit and soul 
to encounter dickinson, hughes,
angelou, emerson, and bukowski
then to mimic them in my own 
gravely voice 
rubbed hoarse by decades of
silent activism
in my cell 
with a pen as a shovel 
digging me out of 
this hell 

while staring at her face
across the visitation table 
i repeat her question
but more as a question
to myself 

i muse…before asking… 
what is prison really like?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.  Phillip Smith is an accomplished writer, across many genres. He is a student, an advocate, author of NC HB 697, editor of The Nash News, and we love to see him here. His accomplishments are extensive, and he has no intention of slowing down. I am grateful to be able to share his work.

Mr. Smith can be contacted at:
Phillip Vance Smith, II #0643656
Nash Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131