Nowhere but Barstow and Prison
My mom and dad tried fifteen times to have a girl baby, but ended up with fifteen boys. We lived in a back house, just off Crooks Street, close… More
The Season
The lawn’s a frigid jigsaw puzzle of frozen brown grass Shut in for winter I sip your best scotch Your car is listed for sale in the auto shopper There’s no tree… More
The Double Edge
The Double EdgeThere is no shame in not surviving.Even as the blood is let outhonor and grace enter the vein.All heroes die for credibility.As for being a saint, Miguelo,it… More
Fighting the Ninja
Prison showers can be scary places. I’m not talking about those old “B” movie scenes where the big hairy guy with a handmade blade shanks the hapless prisoner for… More
Frontline Reflections of a Drug War Journalist
My mouth is dry. I’ve been breathing open-mouthed, out of control. Once the rush of adrenaline subsides, my pulse will return to normal and my mouth will moisten again.A… More
Prison and Poetry
I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind saying they enjoy being incarcerated. Prison, especially state prison, is a horrible place. It is not so much being told what,… More
Check Out Day
There’s always a way out of prison, any prison, and it can be done right now, today. The authorities can’t stop you. Well, they can slow you down if… More
A Particular Sense of Peace
A particular sense of peace sits softly and silently inside.A piece (Peace) of you.A part of me.The walls we build around ourselves keep us locked inside the Prisons we… More
Species of a Lesser God
Indelibly etched in the canyons of memory I can remember being herded onto the Grey Gooses as these prison transportation buses are commonly referred to throughout the California Penal… More
Dad’s Poem
In bed surrounded by humid darkness,Hand-carved hearts above and below.Your snoring echoes across the hall,Halls vapor clings to your breath.My tired belly full of hunted venison.My head full of… More
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