As the inner gate shuts with a fatal click,
The fear and apprehension rises to the back of my throat.
To walk in the footsteps of the most hardened criminal;
Indescribable nightmares struggle my sleep with anxiety,
No protection as I walk past the cells of madness and pain.
I become familiar with the convicted; unable to see freedom.
The eyes bear false witness to the depth of my soul;
The only comfort to fathom is holding my loved one in sleep.
But love is the last feeling to have within these walls;
The hardest journey begins when you enter your own prison...
The prison of the mind.
Janis K. Kirby
Retired CO3/TDCJ-ID
TBB&B
