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Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

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A Country of Sharecroppers

June 2, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

who is the modern day slave?

not just one sentenced to structured captivity
because prison is encapsulated relativity
but the one that has been duped by his story
or knows not of their history
the slave has endured a psychological damage that has numbed their sensitivity
all things considered internal, does not always show visibly
because the modern day slave is still quite a specimen physically

but a closer look at their American history, as their memories begin to crest
all things said and denoted in jest
unknowing of the day ahead
and the days to come next
for duress
has been found in their flesh

whereas the slaves typical stress
is where a need for survival intersects
with governmental interests
and home is made into a traumatic nest
as their day begins and ends in the minds reflections of death

because in their American History
reigns a tyranny
on umbrellas of misery
and a name is made holiday
a day is made celebration
a place is made memorial
all in the aftermath of death-

where an unequal life is an apparent victory
remembering is constantly traumatic
forgetting is because of trauma
realizing is traumatic
ignoring is because of trauma
and avoidance is from the traumatized

adopting
re-associating
assimilating
and conforming are acts of TRAUMA

to acknowledge these things is traumatic
a form of mental slavery
that I can never shake
and has yet to be collectively shook

the chains have been chinked
where completely breaking has been on the brink
while still within them we shrink
the best action made on its behalf is the courage to think
on the pain unresolved as daily hope is a sea to which we sink
and die a thousand deaths before we blink

yes, slavery is more expansive than a plantation
it is an idea
a mentality
a system
a governance
and from generation to generation

its blood paved the roads we drive
erected the buildings we occupy
forming the economic pedestal Americans realize
and as far as it being abolished
extinct
reconciled
healed from
and forgotten
this is a far cry

the historian, Charles Drew said,
“you don’t have to be actively involved in the system to derive at least the psychological benefits of the system”
this country benefits from the system of slavery
and its victims do NOT

their country looks at their suffering like voyeurs
as they beg for what should be expected and owed
evicted from what should be owned and inherited
march and bleed for what should be a guarantee of all
and celebrate their holidays alone
no one idolizes dark skinned deaths that built this country
yet embrace the benefits with gusto
this land of law and order
crafty with its legal language and penmanship
with savvy quills and quips
never made it so slavery will no longer exist
but industrialized prisons so that it would persist
sharecroppers manage from a distance, so no one is around to admit
that if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, then the title fits

and THAT is the truth of this country
still being built in filth benefitting from ongoing slavery

Filed Under: Culture, Trauma

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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.

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