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Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

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Russell Wardlow

Freedomite

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

I didn’t get sentenced
to give away all these years
to give a damn
about your judgment
for the rest of my years
pssh!
can you laugh in free verse?
(insert bellowed villainous laugh)
good vibes though
it’s not about you
it’s about my choice
freedom
I’ve lived enough prisons

Filed Under: Inside, Trauma

Extradition of Conditions

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

unconditional…
sounds more like a platitude
unconditional love, acceptance
if I tried it
given my surroundings
and the state of this world
it would be such a painful life
hmm…
good thing I’m an inherent masochist!

Filed Under: Trauma

With Without

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

I can be
without ‘with’

be, can I
with without?

yes!
born abundant

Filed Under: Mercy, Spirit

Inside Interference

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

unbeknownst
all we have been doing, is
getting in our own way, then blaming
something, someone else for it?

Filed Under: Inside

Politicians

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

a parade of pariahs
parroting
paradigms
of patriarchy
pandering
paradoxical principles
pundits profiteering partiality
pontificating
puritanical platitudes
proselytizing populations
pardoning partnerships
privatizing progress
progressively programming
possessing podiums and pedestals
pssh!

Filed Under: Culture

Message to Seekers

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

please do not open coffins
if you can not handle the sacred remains,
chant the words of power
initiate the rituals
pour the libations
invoke the ancestors
regard their wisdoms
uphold the rites of passage
and decipher the worshipping ways of the ancients
because a gift will become a curse
the cycle of life
will take the appearance of death
becoming scorned and feared
misunderstanding sacrifice
you will not make requisite offerings
as much as you will create offense
excavating wisdoms
uttering them without understanding,
for the title of ‘knower’ and most enlightened
creating separation of divine wholes
inventing forms where form hath not exist
believing you have saved and discovered something
while impure conquests has truly preserved
what has now become tarnished
and the temple will live on desecrated
tales made of truths
in forms that now confuse and subjugate
provoking constant states of fear,
war and lost identity
where dominion over the dominated
and unlearned, reigns
because truth has become owned
for namesake
but reciprocity,
is divine law!

Filed Under: Mercy, Spirit

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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.

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

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  • Inside
  • Love
  • Mercy
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  • Trauma
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