Parchman Prison Writing, Sunday Verses

Mississippi Prison Writes by Johnson. Initiative #9 of 11, published in the book Unit 29

TAKEN OUT OF GENERAL POPULATION

I’m in lockdown now,

I can’t go to the gym,

I can’t go back to eat,

I can’t even go on

Yard call, unless two

prison guards escorting

me.

I sit in my cell, its

Breakfast time, they bring

My food tray to my door,

The eggs is cold, the grits

is cold and stiff, so I

break a pick of grits off.

The food is for my Strength,

So I consume all of

It.

Down the hall, four cells

Below me, is push button

Shower. The water is either

Too, hot or too cold. I

Don’t get beneath the

Shower, I Just soak down,

wash off and get out.

I got my gym call, I

Got my shower, and I

have been fed, now its

Lights out, so I will

Take to this worn-out bed.