“Gutter of Sin” by Horace Thomas
67 years
Was the judge’s decision
Would I live to get out
Or rot in a prison?
Back behind the walls
Where I’d be stuck
Determination would get me out
Not a whim or luck!
I felt numb
Warehoused in the tomb
I wanted another chance
To crawl back into the womb!
What had I done
To be caught up and twisted?
Why did I deserve
To be falsely convicted?!
So I sat in a cell
At an all time low
My future uncertain
And life full of woe!
The only way I’d survive
Was to pull myself together
Or I’d be sitting in prison
For what seems like forever!
During my post-conviction
Issues were raised
But not enough
To have my liberty saved!
The final decision
Didn’t change much
Just knocked off 8 years
Appellate procedures and such!
I researched my issues
When I didn’t have a clue
Preparing myself
For the right thing to do!
Slowly but surely
In time I’d learn
With enough effort
Things could take a turn!
I sat in Folsom prison
Getting my head together
In the worst of times
Even under the weather!
Each time I tried
My petitions were rejected
This negative impact
I found unaccepted!
A lot of hard work
Was put in effect
Work that would pay off
And I wouldn’t regret
Trial and error
I didn’t give up
I had already had
A brush with bad luck!
In between my struggle
I was thrown in segregation
It was all good though
Further degradation!
When that didn’t stop me
They put me back on the yard
And back in the hole
Making my time hard!
I learned real fast
I was singled out
The game the prison played
What they were all about!
I had to love myself
And never stop!
Putting one foot in front of the other.
And never drop!
They recognized my ambition
Desire to succeed
Piles of paperwork
How I continued to proceed!
In a last ditch effort
They buried me in the hole!
But still I saw the light
And reached for my goal!
After my hole time
I hit the general population
With the gang members and gangsters
Making preparations…
Pelican Bay prison
The end of the road
Where violence controlled the yard
Where the system unloads…
The worst of the worst
This includes staff
No exceptions
All were a part of the wrath!
Everything about the place
Made survival slim
All the news society heard
Was sad and very grim…
The people that worked there
Were much like the men
In the bowels of a city
Within a gutter of sin!
Racial riots
Thunder storms
Pigs running
At the sound of an alarm…
Inmates were afraid
Motivated by fear
Unable to control their emotion
Forced to live here!
They couldn’t break me
By selective housing in the system
And repeated failure
To make me a victim!
Next on the agenda
Was cover up false reports
The district attorney
Refused to take me to court!
No more mainline
I became obsolete
Their play in motion
Execution complete!
Only the beginning
Of the lies and deceit to come
A taste of politics
The damage was done!
I was ready
Holding back restraint
I exercised my first amendment right
Initiating complaints!
Time and again
I threw up a roadblock
They teamed up on me
With crafty plots!
I continued my struggle
Getting creative
Using my head
Being innovative…
