Prison As Metaphor
The time was almost right
for the recitation of a poem
when the judge asked me
if I had anything to say before sentencing.
I wanted to say Yes – why the 'anything to say' ritual?
To make me squirm
before the varnished gavel comes down?
Oh, and why the gavel ritual?
But I said No.
I am guilty
so there is nothing else you need to know about me,
My crime, not me,
sits in a cell with green walls
When I arrived I would not lie down
Because that would make it my home
A voice on the radio says
“My life feels like prison.”
I want them to use a different metaphor.
One that doesn’t suck my life up
and turn it into a little diorama with plastic figurines
in aluminum foil chains
Behind bars made of pretzels
As if I could eat my way out of here
poem by Michael Philips
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Charge
So I am going to hop on my own train and get it moving.
For at the end of the day I am the judge of my own life.
Whether to sentence myself to a night of negativity or let go of the chains and be free.
For this decision haunts my mind every night but tonight I will pound the gavel down for I have made a descision.
Tonight I am going to take off the chains.
For I have put myself through enough.
Time to take charge and knock this negativity down.
Time to start being happy and take charge of my own life.
poem by Christina J. Williams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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From the beginning, we promised folks that they'll see whatever event we cover in its entirety, from gavel to gavel - whether it's the House of Representatives or the Senate. That's the whole reason for being.
quote by Brian Lamb
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Hair
The ritual evanesced when we observed it,
The ritual completed when our lice grew.
The head was full of lice, I hear them and saw each of them,
Restraining the children with feet, the arms also.
Inexorable lice swayed in the hair of our heads
Until the ritual was entire.
What is this ritual?
The ritual is of the dressing of hair,
Or the cutting of hair by the hairdresser.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Setting You Free
i sit here with a gavel on hand
dressed in black
you fear me for what i can do
for i sit in judgment of you
i look at you
and find this tranquility of your
spirit and i humble myself before
you, an innocent man
silenced by the cruelty of the laws
of his brethren
and then i bang the gavel
setting you free and then
i get down from the heights of
man's self-made bench
glossy yet so cold and then
i shake your hand
it is warm and
it had long been
thirsty.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Reason And Cause For Their Pain
Everyday!
Everyday as if a ritual,
Someone is complaining...
About being misunderstood.
Everyday as if a ritual,
Fault is being made...
About someone else.
Everyday as if a ritual,
People are accused...
For something they didn't do.
Everyday!
Everyday as if a ritual,
Some believes they have the right...
To excuse themselves of responsibility.
And everyday,
Someone is left to feel alone...
Still not getting the connection,
Between their misdeeds...
Aches and pains.
And those heartbreaks they receive,
They have come to perceive...
No one else has known!
And everyday without fail,
As sure as the ticking of a clock is heard...
These people will not see themselves,
The reason and cause for their pain.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Sometimes 2
Sometimes walls are comforting and secure
while other walls seem like a prison make.
Sometimes places hold a comfort zone
while others hold an alien atmosphere.
Sometimes we feel not wanted
while other times we feel like home.
Sometimes we feel trapped by circumstance
and all the time we want to be free.
Sometimes a break is not a break
but just our prison walls make.
It is then we wish we were far away
in the comfort of our home.
16 September 2010
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Her Majesty's Prison Low Moss
Welcome to our brand new home,
It's everything and more,
En-suite bathrooms covered in chrome,
Nothing in here is a chore.
No mortgage, council tax or rent,
All-inclusive is our pad,
In our quest for more we'll not relent,
Society has gone bloody mad.
Drugs and drink all on hand,
While the recession's making you gaunt,
Nothing we want in here is banned,
Our criminality we love to flaunt.
Flat screen TVs with satellite,
A licence we don't need,
Fed like a Lord both day and night,
They supply our every need.
Life is bliss in our luxury gaffe,
But somehow we'll get by,
We know you think we're having a laugh,
But in here sadness doesn't apply.
We'd love to thank you for being so kind,
But in truth we couldn't care less,
It's our aim in life to be confined,
That's why we all transgress.
Do you really believe a luxury cell,
Will help our souls to mend,
Being crime free is like living in hell,
That's why we re-offend.
You compensate us for committing crime,
It just doesn't make any sense,
It's part of the reason we love doing time,
Your powerbrokers must be dense.
We will always end up back in here,
It's like a holiday without the sun,
To the law of the land we will never adhere,
Being in prison is so much fun.
So we thank you for our new hotel,
It's the ultimate place to doss,
While you're struggling we'll all sleep well,
In,
‘' Her Majesty's Prison, Low Moss ‘'
The thing is, if you control the Senate meetings, you control the gavel. And the gavel is a very important instrument... an instrument of power. An instrument that establishes the agenda.
quote by Dan Quayle
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Jailbreak
There was a friend of mine on murder
And the judges gavel fell
Jury found him guilty
Gave him sixteen years in hell
He said I aint spending my life here
I aint living alone
Aint breaking no rocks on the chain gang
Im breakin out and headin home
Gonna make a jailbreak
And Im lookin towards the sky
Im gonna make a jailbreak
Oh, how I wish that I could fly
All in the name of liberty
All in the name of liberty
Got to be free
Jailbreak, let me out of here
Jailbreak, sixteen years
Jailbreak, had more than I can take
Jailbreak, yeah
He said hed seen his lady being fooled with
By another man
She was down and he was up
He had a gun in his hand
Bullets started flying everywhere
And people started to scream
Big man lying on the ground
With a hole in his body
Where his life had been
But it was -
All in the name of liberty
All in the name of liberty
I got to be free
Jailbreak, jailbreak
I got to break out
Out of here
Heartbeats they were racin
Freedom he was chasin
Spotlights, sirens, rifles firing
But he made it out
With a bullet in his back
song performed by by AC-DC
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Stone Walls
Written by - Jim Croce
It's been too many years inside this prison
Too many years just for one little fight
He got what was comin'
And I think I served enough time
I'm goin' home tonight
That stone looks mighty cold
And the guard that walks that wall
Is just waitin' to get a convict in his sights
But if I can clear the top
You can bet I'll never stop
Cause I'm goin' home tonight
Chorus:
Because stone walls do a prison
Make iron bars a cage
Any man who says they don't
Never been inside
Cause in time the bars get closer
And at night the walls grow tighter
Do you feel like there's a shackle around your mind?
Now those guards are on my tail
I can hear those sirens wail
But I know that I'll get away and that I'll be alright
Cause I'd rather live on the run
Stand free in the morning sun
Then to spend another lonely prison night
Chorus
song performed by by Jim Croce
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ritual gives
Ritual give no fruit
This is not new.
My words are old
Presentation new
That make you
Understand easy.
Ritual give no fruit
Engaged not yourself
To kill vluable time
Use the rhyme.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lever
Turn the mirrors face the wall
Don't you feel a little weak?
And I'd catch you when you fall
But you're falling all the time
Do you need it anymore?
Or do you need a little more?
Living your life like a bull in the trade
He doesn't know how it feels
Under my thumb like a bone under nail
She's in the know
song performed by by Silverchair from Diorama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Eyes-radio-lies
Slipping past position
You know I watch you dive
Watching you painted in chrome max factor
And feeling number one
all alone now
I can see you way, to the drone
Radio waves, hitting your brain from the phone
I can see
I cant see whats on your mind
Because your never alone
I am the voice inside your head
And the eyes in your radio
Im the eyes in your radio (radio, radio)
Im the eyes in your radio (radio, radio)
Hello mr. race car driver
You know Im watching you too
In the trauma-room, brain dead, still you went faster
Now your number means nothing
Mr. nickel-plated candyman
Are you feeling in lifeless in aluminum
Spinning decisions to the core
As everyone dances in the fast lane
I cant see whats on your mind
Because your never alone
I am the voice inside your head
And the eyes in your radio
Im the eyes in your radio (eyes in your radio)
Im the eyes in your radio (radio, radio)
With all thats fake, theres sence to make
From toys that break (from toys that, from toys that break)
Its time to throw away, all the bad things that you hated
You scared yourself away, now heres what you appreciate
Thats why people lie (people like you)
Thats why people lie (people like me)
Thats why people lie (people like you)
Thats why people lie (people like me)
Thats why people lie (so go away)
Thats why people lie (people like me)
Thats why people lie (people like you)
Thats why people lie
Im the eyes in your radio (eyes in your radio)
Im the eyes in your radio (radio, radio)
With all thats fake, theres sence to make, from toys that break (radio,
Radio...)
With all thats fake, theres sence to make, from toys that break (radio,
Radio...)
With all thats fake, theres sence to make, from toys that break
With all thats fake, theres sence to make, from toys that break
song performed by by Orgy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Home Song
I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage!"
Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.
But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest.
poem by Henry Van Dyke
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I loved being a judge, and sometimes I miss the power of the gavel, but this is a lot more fun.
quote by Catherine Crier
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Angels
Take this man to prison, the man heard herod say,
And then four squads of soldiers came and carried him away.
Chained up between two watchmen, peter tried to sleep,
But beyond the walls an endless prayer was lifting for his keep.
Then a light cut through the darkness of a lonely prison cell,
And the chains that bound the man of God just opened up and fell,
And running to his people before the break of day,
There was only one thing on his mind, only one thing to say:
Angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.
But I know theyre all around me all day and through the night.
When the enemy is closing in, I know sometimes they fight
To keep my fight from falling, Ill never turn away.
If youre asking whats protecting me then youre gonna hear me say:
Got his angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angles watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me.
Got his angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me!
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home....
song performed by by Amy Grant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Time Off For Good Behavior
My brother went to prison
Hes in kingston doin time
He got seven years for sellin
What Ive been smokin all my life
Time off for good behavior
But the boy dont feel too good
Locked behind those steel bars
I dont know if he should
Yeh a few years ago they called me
Back home to get a big award
They also called my brother
But they made him say my lord
They locked me up in a hall of fame
And threw away the keys
But when they put my brother away
It really did somethin to me
Now Im guilty as hell for sayin
Boy you better go back home
You know youll get a fair shake there
Were running all alone
When he called me up from the border
With the mounties on his tail
I said go back to canada
We can raise the bail
Now I get these letters
From a cell with no tv
He says hes outside one hour
And inside twenty three
Time off for good behavior
But the boy dont feel too good
Locked behind those steel bars
I dont know if he should
Now Im guilty as hell for sayin
Boy you better go back home
You know youll get a fair shake there
Were running all alone
When he called me up from the border
With the mounties on his tail
I said go back to canada
We can raise the bail
My brother went to prison
Hes in kingston doin time
He got seven years for sellin
What Ive been smokin all my life
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It is sad when the hand of justice trembles in front of the judge's gavel.
aphorism by Hasier Agirre, translated by Dan Costinaş
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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The Poem Is A Metaphor
THE POEM IS A METAPHOR
The Poem is a Metaphor
It means ‘the world’
It means ‘all that there is’
It means ‘the soul’
It means ‘our deepest feeling’.
The Poem is a Metaphor
It is more than what it just appears to be
It takes on a life of its own
It says more than it can define itself as
The Poem is a Metaphor
And it itself does not understand
Where it began and how it will end
And whether or not
It should always be rewritten.
The Poem is a Metaphor
And we too are metaphors
That will vanish one day
When all the real Poems
Pretend to still be here.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Feels Like Home
Something in your eyes makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lost myself in your arms
Theres something in your voice makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts
The rest of my life
If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long Ive felt so low
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way youve done
Chorus:
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like Im all the way back where I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like Im all the way back where I belong
A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren walls in the night
But Im alright cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark theres light
If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long Ive waited for your touch
If you knew how happy you are making me
Ive never thought Id love anyone so much
Repeat chorus
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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