Memories are my companions.
They have stayed with me my
whole life.
Moments of better times
sustain me through endless
hours of isolation.
Some memories are more like
Enemies, they hurt so bad
I can barely breathe.
Moments of joy, others of sorrow,
made me the man I am today
I’m hopeful for tomorrow.
I am affirmation.
I am adaptation.
I am affirming, I am adapting.
I am born of a marriage of
these two things.
I am transforming now.
I am transcending now.
I am now.
I am not then, I am not him.
I am me.
Inside my mind, I am free
I am an artist, a poet, a Sagittarius. Serving a life without parole sentence. July 2009 was the last time I experienced freedom, when I was sentenced to the secondary death penalty. The judge looked me in the eyes, told me I would die alone. I would be alone until the time of my death. I was 30 then. My soul seemed to die that cold winter day when I was sentenced. I never felt so alone in my life as I did my first night in San Quentin State Prison. It looks like a dungeon. People need hope. Hope is the expectation and desire for something good an anticipation of a change of circumstances for the better. Through my writing and poetry, I realized I have never lost hope. God is my companion. He provided hope and purpose. I enjoy good conversations with positive, uplifting people. I am currently a student at Merced College. I enjoy reading poetry and writings, and I am interested in what people have to say and think. Let me know what’s on your mind.
