Michael, 37
Incarcerated: 4 years
Housed: High Desert State Prison, California
“Living For Me”
I live for the future
Because there’s always change
Hindered by the bars,
And I still think long range
This is about me,
But more about humanity
Cuz I have what it takes,
To create a new reality
Suffering in the world,
Where love is still provided
Like families self-destructed,
But hurt has been divided
Finding their way back,
And looking for a new hope
It’s a game of not giving up,
Or deal just to cope
Don’t fight with your mind,
Or battle with your heart
Like being distance from your kids,
On a path of a painful start
Open your heart and eyes,
So you will truly see
It’s the mind that’s your strength,
Anda reminder to say
I’m living for me
“Let Go”
Think about what hurts,
And what you’ve built in the past
Like being your own enemy,
With pain that will last
Understand how you feel,
And communicate with your emotion
Meditate with self-reflect,
And faith you’ll find devotion
Your nerves will calm,
Like a ocean without waves
Confusion yourself in suppose,
with a heart of changing ways
Clear in your mind,
With nothing to hold on
Just you and yo love,
Because you knew you were strong
Going to sleep happy,
And waking up without pain
Refusing to dwell on something,
Because what you’ve gained
Getting responses fluently,
Not knowing how it would show
All the while moving forward,
Cuz the whole time you
let go
“Love Without Bars”
In there when you wake up
All you’ll notice is a gate
And forgotten by the free world
With self love as you fate
At times you’ll feel stress
Feeling like nobody cares
Praying for something better
But inside your the only one there
With a state of confusion
Because I still talk to my family
Knowing what’s for the world
That’s love for the best of we
Like trying to find peace
Digging for clear path of hope
But only discovering who
True self of love only to cope
Cause a war what’s already won
With love, it’s not a battle
Cause inside we’re like animals
And fed like destroyed cattle
So finding love is worth it
Cause you’ll disappear all the scars
Without losing in faith
And love without bars
“Left What Can’t Be Remembered”
I have dealt with the most
And cried tears with the best
Some things to get over
Which will leave you with nothing less
You’ll find it in your heart
And deep within your soul
Seeking what’s in the future
Without looking low
Because it’s a path to be taken
And that’s love at the end
Something not in the past
Cause the future is where you’ve been
Never losing hope
To only find love inside
Its self battling worth
To move forward without a lie
Creating your own destiny
And looking into the real future
With the power of training thought
And the choice for you to nurture
So reading my own thoughts
Returned back to the sender
Is the beginning of a start
That’s left what can’t be remembered