Prison Poems

'Paper is more patient than people', Anne Frank

At 8am on Friday 12th October 1997, I arrived at HMP Wakefield - a high security prison - to lead creative workshops for inmates involved in the Anne Frank Prison Project. Using Anne Frank's story as a source of inspiration, participants were to write about some of their life experiences.

I was curious to meet the men. How would we get on? Would they trust me? Could we create an atmosphere in which they could honestly share thoughts and feelings?

Out of animated conversation, out of risk-taking and laughter, out of powerful moments of recognition and understanding, came moving, amusing, inspiring writing. The men surprised themselves with their achievements, and I appreciated the warmth with which they welcomed me and listened to my poetry and stories.

Leah Thorn, October 2007
www.leahthorn.com

The following poems were written by prisoners at HMP Wakefield.

I Speak

I speak as a man
Who doesn't need drugs to get me high
Or alcohol to get me by

I speak as a man
Who hates football and likes to vote
And not afraid to rock the boat
When canvassing for a party vote

I speak as a man
Who loves red wine, soul and cakes
Whose poetry is often littered
With grammatical mistakes

I speak as a man
Who loves to travel
Sat on the train
One's sweets unravel

I speak as a man
Whose earthly treasures
Are not found in electrical pleasures
But in friends and family
We love and know
And like flowers
Need to be nurtured to grow

Mark

A man spoke to me

I crossed over close to read his words
Then stepped back a little
I wanted to think to evaluate his picture
From my new perspective
I knew what he meant, but I didn't agree 
Not totally

I suppose, in the bustle of the exhibition
There was too much clamour to really think
And too much hustle too
As each picture told its story
And ripped your heart strings
A little this way,
A little that

And time was short too,
before the need to step away altogether
And return to not looking,
Not seeing,
Not thinking really

He'd he said lost everything except himself 
But isn't that fantastic
To have stripped away everything
And finally found yourself?

Geoff