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Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

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Good Damage

August 22, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

there’s value in brokenness
you just have to want to
see it
in yourself
then you’ll identify
with someone else
needing to be helped

I think my shell
has been my longest-lived
prison cell
my vocal heart quelled
by a development jailed
erosive emotions guarded and hailed
in the wake of hope, one could only rebel

there’s honor in honesty
I say this humbly, I’m depraved
with nothing, it’s hard to be brave
when I only see graves
I brace too much to embrace
but how can one behave?
when that way means, be slaved

but there’s value in us
cutting calendars up
living and feeling is challenge enough
detaching from time until released
what an irony, huh?
every over-pressured coal creates a diamond
if help is mining, you’ll see us shinning, just look!

Filed Under: Mercy, Spirit, 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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