Occasionally we receive writing from incarcerated men that we don’t know and have never met or worked with. We were happy for them to share their work with us and we are happy to share it here.
Understanding the Teen Brain
Whoever proposed that love
was all we needed
Has never tried reasoning
with an unruly teenager.
And apparently they never
heard the cautionary tale
Of God coming of age.
In His youth,
“God so loved the world
that he sacrificed
His only begotten son…”
In hindsight,
maybe God was a teen mom
In way over her head.
Because anyone thinking with
the rational part of their brain
Would’ve chosen to die instead.
I’m not questioning
a woman’t right to choose.
I’m merely suggesting
that we convert our minds
The the undeniable truth
That good judgement
Doesn’t come with love.
like a guilty verdict,
It comes with time.
For the record,
I wouldn’t have
a criminal record
If there were no record
of me in my teens.
And if a teen is irredeemable
How can any of us
be guilt free?
Arkansas death row
is not the ideal place
To discover pearls of wisdom.
However, here’s a gem:
If you were fortunate
Enough to outlive
the mistakes of your youth,
Don’t condemn those
who were less fortunate.
Justin, Arkansas Death Row 2022