YARD TIME
I run miles in squared circles
22 strides long by 11 wide,
Brushing the walls with my shoulders,
Nudging them outward . . . pushing against my
confinement.
Flying in my mind's eye, challenging their oppression.
I daydream of loved ones and glance at the sky
On the straight-aways . . . 22 strides long by 11 wide.
I fight all the battles we won on the streets,
I breathe with the cadence I set with my feet.
And when I tire before I'm ready to stop
My mind recalls the story I've read so often to my kids.
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .
As the little engine struggles to the top,
And the joy of the children as they change the chant . . .
I thought I could, I thought I could, never say can't.
So the pain melts from my lungs
And settles in my heart
As my stride opens up
To the pace at the start,
A new cadence grows as I cover the distance,
One we all know . . .
Repression Breeds Resistance
Repression Breeds Resistance
Repression Breeds Resistance
(Written 1990, Control Unit, Trenton State Prison)
by Tom Manning, 10373-016
P.O. Box 8500
Florence, CO 81226-8500