• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

  • Home
  • About
  • Prose
    • Culture
    • Inside
    • Love
    • Mercy
    • Spirit
    • Trauma
  • Listen
  • News
  • Connect
  • Support

Alien

January 25, 2020 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

You never knew me

how could you?

I didn’t..

I was never drawn to you

you weren’t broken enough

I acknowledge and welcomed your presence

even recognized your dialect

I’ve spoken many different tongues myself-

like love pain naivete

and even ignorance

just not privileged

cultured in my own ways I suppose

I’ve been around

though not far,

but far enough to know-

we spoke a different language

from a time split by experiences

instead of years

I code switched and spoke your language to fit in

yet when I spoke my language-

I was sore thumbs

we trek from two different worlds

you run from the things I embrace

denying the realities I know exist

how could we coexist intimately in a shared space

when our philosophies would clash and crash

because frankly

I’ve seen it all

yet still I seek

and even question in places where no light creeps

but you’re still scared of the dark

entertaining bed time stories about my life experiences

no, you never knew me,

truthfully you never wanted to

because we all innately fear what we don’t understand

and you will never understand me

it would tarnish your outlook-

like a kid finding out Santa was a hoax

so why would I entertain fear

especially now that I’m living free of it

my life is more museum to people like you

feel free to exhibit

but keep your distance

and don’t touch!

Filed Under: Culture, Love, Spirit, Trauma

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Prose of a Con

Prose of a Con is a collection of Russell Wardlow’s prose and poetry written entirely behind bars. Through writings on family, spirituality, freedom, love, justice, redemption, and vulnerability, Russell seeks to show the humanity and hope of individuals like himself who are incarcerated.

Read More

  • Whose Mind is it Anyway June 30, 2022
  • Objects June 30, 2022
  • Same Thang, Different Name June 30, 2022
  • Optical Ill-lusions June 30, 2022
  • Hollow Symbols June 30, 2022

Themes

  • Culture
  • Inside
  • Love
  • Mercy
  • Spirit
  • Trauma
  • Uncategorized

Footer

Prose of a Con

Prose of a Con is sponsored by giveabeat.org

  • Instagram

Navigation

  • Home
  • About
  • Prose
  • Listen
  • News
  • Connect
  • Support

Themes

  • Culture
  • Inside
  • Love
  • Mercy
  • Spirit
  • Trauma
  • Uncategorized

Prose of a Con © 2023 · web design by Studio Lyko