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Prose of a Con

Poetry and Prose by Russell Wardlow

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Love

The thing about a Flower

November 28, 2017 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

The thing about a flower..is beauty til death
It lives with grace, as it dies in that vase
You may only wear your beauty because of pressure
Make-up veils the truth
but I see your eyes, as if life is dying inside of you
Stunning the way you hide it
You are deeper than any well
Enthralled with such elegance
Like a bug, I feel fatally lured into your luminescence
But up close, I peer into your petals of agony
Others too often hover the surface, your look induces the chase
Externally masked, ironically you put off what you hate
Composed well since you first blossomed
So no one see’s your depth
You die slow yearning for trust and true love..
But you don’t love yourself
You feel like an object, a prized possession, a visual gift
Lauded after because of your appearance
Shallowly preserved, slowly wilting away within time
Dying slowly as you stand brilliantly flushed
The thing about a flower

 

Filed Under: Culture, Love, Trauma

Fear of Love

November 27, 2017 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

I fear in you
The promise in
Possibilities
Paradoxes
Paradigms
And the overall perceptual paragon of paradise
called love..
The only problem healed by itself
So what am I without it
Without you
Scared…to…live…to…love…to…lose

Filed Under: Inside, Love, Trauma

Nostalgia

November 23, 2017 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

No-stal-gi-a

I always loved the sound of the word

though I never took to it

I mean, I never had a past time of memorable things I clung to

Reminiscing was always in some form kind of painful

But this one day..

It boasted my favorite memories

I felt whole

No matter what foster home or group home I left

Just to be included on that day made me complete

Thanksgiving

The only day of the year I felt a part of my family

The day I looked forward to every year

To see my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma and siblings

People who looked like me, shared my blood

Nothing fulfiled me more than seeing my family on Thanksgiving

It wasn’t the food though you know us black people can throw down

It was the family reunion, the day everyone seemed so happy to see me

Nostalgia to me is Thanksgiving

Filed Under: Culture, Love, Trauma

Took it for granted

November 17, 2017 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

You took her for granted
Laid her face on your shirt-
The hardest thing for a man to do
Take blame for his hurt
The dumbest thing he ever did
Not putting her first-
The worst mistake he ever made
Not making it work

She took him for granted
Heard his heart race through his shirt
The hardest thing for a woman
Chasing relations and worth
The dumbest thing she ever did
Embracing the flirts
The worst mistake she ever made
Her actions not chained to her words

The paradox of chasing love
Is in the possibility of chasing more hurt
The pain of losing love
When we close our eyes, and still see the face of him or her
You took it for granted

Filed Under: Love, Trauma

Bad news and Goodbyes

November 17, 2017 by Russell Wardlow 1 Comment

I ask myself sometimes..
What is it about bad news that sometimes settles me
As if the culmination of let downs makes it unfathomable for me to endure something good
Or the audacity of savoring something great
The hope for it seems just as ridiculous
Is it the comfort of no further expectations within the flat line of bad news
Is it the good news always has the possibility of turning bad, as if I’m half across a high line tight rope
Why is my comfort in misery or self masochism more easily lived with
But my promise haunts me more than goodbyes?
Maybe that’s what it is, the goodbyes I expect
The ones to come and the ones that came
I’ve spent my whole life remembering
Slammed doors, dial tones and more backs than faces
So its hard now to face you and every promise that comes attached
So don’t believe in me, I’m just another case of bad news
Goodbye freedom, goodbye opportunities, goodbye love…
At least I said it first this time

Filed Under: Culture, Love, Spirit, Trauma

I spoke to an Angel

November 2, 2017 by Russell Wardlow Leave a Comment

How channeled

We wake, every day, safe, to a stained forever in mornings

I just spoke with an angel

That lives with faith, every day, ordained by her way, yet just lost some feathers from mourning

and still

Before the sun rays, bake her face, she places her fate in adorning

A God

That she praises, while amazed by his grace, as she prays like a saint, for patience through her aches as

She’s soaring

What I am saying is…

Even though she’s an angel, she goes through the same pain that we all feel in our life

Growth is a painful process that she endures and embraces through her faith in Christ

Her belief in a plan and purpose, helps her weather the pain beneath her surface, so she, even weakened to

Her knees, speaks that she believes joy will come through her mourning

So every day that we wake, maybe we all should embrace a belief strong enough to chase, so we can all

Taste that everlasting joy in the morning

I just spoke with an angel…

The lessons I still learn and love I still see even in your grief, amazing…

Filed Under: Love, 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.

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  • Objects June 30, 2022
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  • Optical Ill-lusions June 30, 2022
  • Hollow Symbols June 30, 2022

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