Category: The Beat Without

by Anthony Billings, Pleasant Valley State Prison, in Coalinga, CA They say hindsight vision is 20/20 and it’s hard not to agreeSo in this year of 2021 this is written to help guide and leadTime travel is not an option, otherwise I would have planned itTo go back to the seeds of my mistakes and prevent them from being plantedAlthough it’s too late for me and in a sense past my curfewThese lines are not meant for me but rather to be read by youStrive to excel in school because your grades actually matterAlso, maintain a healthy sense of humor,

by Michael Mackey, San Quentin State Prison, CA To me being brave means David and Goliath, standing up for something or someone you believe in. Who comes to mind when I hear this word, that could be a few people but the best person I can share with you all today is me.  I am the most brave person I know because I stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. I stand up for myself at times, but I put others first before me. Well, I used to do that all the time, blindly, and didn’t even

by Chad Fitzpatrick, Bayport, Minnesota This is about my life and observation of it and changes as I change. I would like to share with you what living with a mental illness is like and how I’ve learned to manage it. Every mental illness is different because every person is different. There is no easy cures or treatments but there are many different tools available to us so we can learn how to manage and survive living with a mental illness. It is us to us to figure out how to manage our own individual mental illness, which at times

by Armando Gonzalez, San Quentin State Prison, CA Today is bright and sunny, with a crisp chill in the air. It’s about ten in the morning, and I’ve been doing push-ups, pull-ups, and dips for about forty-five minutes.  One of the fellas who’s recently been let out of the SHU (Security Housing Unit) comes by and asks, “Hey bro, you got a minute?”  “Yeah, what’s up?”  He says, “let’s spin some laps.”  As we start to walk around the track, he asks, “Hey, about a year ago, did you put in a request to go Christian?”  I say, “Yes.”  He

by LWOP “P”, High Desert State Prison in Susanville, CA Well allow me to extend my profound love and gratitude your way. With that being said straight to the matter at hand! It’s January 23rd, 2021 early in the morning and I just got done bird-bathing. For those that don’t know what it means, it means as it sounds; bathing in the cell, washing up. Filling up the sink with water, and you sit down facing the sink and with a cup you start to you bathe yourself.  Furthermore! I’m not here to talk about a bird bath. However I’m

by Matthew Feeney, Moose Lake, Minnesota The man was jolted out of his fitful slumber by an unfamiliar noise. He lay silently in his bed, letting awareness slowly soared back into his head. He listened again for the sound. The constant hum and whirl from the ventilation grills was all he heard. It was all he heard in the last 68 days (give or take a day or two).  Not that he was complaining. As long as he heard that familiar hum from the vent, he knew he still had a fighting chance of survival. Whatever the sound was real

by Floyd D. Collins, San Quentin State Prison, CA Life is a journey and on this road there are many streets, roads, detours and obstacles. For me coming to prison I didn’t have a GPS to help me navigate through the unknown. My first stop after going through the process of San Francisco County Jail “7th floor” was San Quentin reception center “Badger Section” 5th tier. Knowing nothing about prison I had to become a student. I looked and learned and spoke when spoked to. This taught me how to listen and talk less. Starting my 25 to life sentence

by Eddie Grande, Correctional Training Facility, Soledad, CA Power, how would like to be able to choose your own president? How would you like to be able to choose your own Bills and Laws? Decide who you want seated in office? Who your Governor is, who your Attorney General is? Your Mayor? Police Chief? Head City Prosecutor? How would you like to have a say in what taxes you pay and on what, to have the right to be able to do that is power and a power that is earned by privilege and  earned by remaining a productive and

by Jesse Manuel Ventura, Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, CA Christmas to me at this time is a reminder of the conclusion of another year that has culminated understanding the events that have taken place by absorbing all the bad with the good and after twenty years of being incarcerated I miss and love my family and friends so very much. The truth is that at this time in Christmas we are in a year living with a deadly virus that has spread worldwide where so many lives have been lost or have a loved one affected by this virus

by Taylor Kraig, Oregon Department of Corrections in Urialla, Oregon Spending time in lock-up or detention can be lonely and troubling. Time slows down and structure is brought upon you. It’s easy to be frustrated and annoyed. I know this from my own experience. I am 24 years old and I am 4 years in on my 10 year sentence. When I first got sentenced I was frustrated. I was confused and I was lost. I sat on the yard and asked myself, “What do I want to make of this time?” I went back to my cell that night