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Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

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Inside

Confined Romantic

October 27, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

romantic fantasies
help me sway and fade out
it’d be a Cinderella story
if I found love on the way out
but that’s the irony of love
because there’s no way out
I must be institutionalized
always looking for escape routes
I stray from curious eyes
it reminds me of the gatehouse
prison must be like love
once you go in, it’s hard to stay out

Filed Under: Inside, Love, Trauma

I Got a Story to Tell

October 27, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

to the performance stage, from a prison cell
I got a story to tell
chaos was the earth, everywhere I dwelled
I got a story to tell
I had contemplative meditations and prayers in hell
I got a story to tell
introvert turned extrovert, forced to come out my shell
I got a story to tell
I was once on track, until trained thoughts derailed
I got a story to tell
I once believed in everything I was told, until I rebelled
I got a story to tell
I gauged worth in visits, collect calls, emails and snail mail
I got a story to tell
I weighed love by numerous relationships failed
I got a story to tell
even my ex told me I left her because I didn’t tell
I got a story to tell
I let the conditioned love learned from family set sail
I got a story to tell
and got strong from reps of pushups after every time I fell
I got a story to tell
I once believed the symbol of life being, hammer and nail
I got a story to tell
in prison you’re blind to the world, so we codex our own brail
I got a story to tell
statistically defied death, passed go, still landing in jail
I got a story to tell
because of course I couldn’t afford bail
I got a story to tell
and the years to come, I’d get to know those chapters well
the making of WayOfLife, bear witness to this story I tell

Filed Under: Inside, Mercy

Damnit

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

the man got me by the balls
the devil got me by the ankles
I try to find a rock and a hard safe place
to hide my heart
but my head gets in the way
…this is funny

Filed Under: Inside, Spirit, Trauma

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

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

Socio-Structural Derivatives

September 1, 2021 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

there is
parity here
so much so
in that
it is
in all actuality
imparity.

we are
all treated
similar, in that
we are
all inmates
unequal- divided by
color.

Filed Under: Inside

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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

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