VOX & TLV Prison Writing Series: “Three Prose Poems” by Kenneth Dennis

Time Passing

I have gone through my span of Life. I was given birth from my mother’s womb, learned how to talk and walk, learned my ABCs, and eventually learned how to read and write. I learned Right from Wrong, and still I wind up serving time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. I am trying to be strong.

As I reflect back on the time span of my life, I realize time is really passing. Time is passing by at a much quicker rate than I could ever fathom. What’s really so pathetic about time passing is, I am still serving this life sentence in the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

Looking Out

While looking out the Prison Window, I see cars and trucks constantly going up and down the highway. Highway 49 is right outside my window view. Miles away, though.

The people driving these vehicles have no idea I’m watching them travel up and down the highway, as I’m looking out the prison window.

Everybody is going about their lives, and when they’ve finally reached their destination, be it home or wherever, they still won’t know I saw them driving by while I was looking out the Prison Window and yearning for my freedom.

The Sun Is Shining

It’s a beautiful day outside, but because of my situation, I am confined to my cell.

Lord, how I wish I could feel the radiant rays of the sun on my skin. The sun is shining bright, and I know it feels right. The sun is life refurbishing itself. It heals the bones that has ached all winter long. It turns the grass green after a long hard rain. I can go on and on about the sun when it is shining. However, I’m going to leave you with what I’ve already said about the sun when it is shining and with your own thoughts about the sun when it’s shining down on you.

Tags: Kenneth Dennis, louis bourgeois, Mississippi Prison Writing, prison writes initiative

About the Author

TLV News The Local Voice is a bimonthly entertainment guide and newspaper based in Oxford, Mississippi, covering and distributed in North Central Mississippi, including Oxford, Ole Miss, Taylor, Abbeville, Water Valley, Lafayette County, Yalobusha County, and parts of Panola County, Marshall County, and Tupelo . The Local Voice is distributed free to over 255 locations in North Mississippi and also available as a full color PDF download worldwide on the internet.