“Behind These Bars”

BY MAURICE “FLYNT” PEARSON

These are free thoughts of an incarcerated mind

Ink bleeding liberation into the veins of each line

It’s alive! 

Breathing life into those who remain paralyzed in place

Dwelling among societies forgotten, I am the cold case

Voice of the trash, incinerated into treasure

Experience love and the intercourse of its pained pleasure

This is a journey into the cells that house the pain

Where numbers are preferred over letters and take the place of names

This is a violent calculated escape without penalty

A reluctant nod to the past, celebration of maturity

The discovery of self, growth and development

Blood painted on the margin, where the past and present live

This is overcoming obstacles, reigning triumphant over trials and tribulations

Finding lessons and wisdom in the thick of every situation

These are nouns and verbs from the depths of my soul

Spoken as a son, brother, father, friend and foe

This is proof of what God did, intro to dynasty

Maintaining constant elevation, this is the higher me

Fight of my life, the champ, both broken and bruised

The epitome of my existence, all its beautiful lies and ugly truths

This is beauty being exhumed

Risen from the cracks of the concrete and into full bloom

This is manure laid over the rose bush

The untold stories that dead souls push

This is the meeting place for heaven and hell

Where the strong survive and the witty prevail

This is the oath and unwritten rules that have been sworn to

The oppression and destruction that was born into

This is pain, experience, glory and faults

Love, loyalty, rights and wrongs

This is injustice, intelligence, hope, hatred and a broken heart

This is the scab and the scar

Metaphorically, literally and lyrically life behind these bars.