by Dre, San Francisco I’ve been tripping out lately since my people passed on. That’s my mom, my auntie, my granny. I’ve been yelling and getting easily irritated and shhh. I’d be on my bed and shhh. I’m releasing my grief through my anger. I’ll be working out and shooting hoops. That makes me feel better. I get the anger off my mind. Talking on the phone to friends and it gets the pain off my mind. This anger might always be with me, but I’m going to keep it under control. I’m going to keep it under control with
Continue ReadingFive Years Ago
by Kugen, San Mateo Five years ago I did not think I would be writing something about five years ago in jail. I wasn’t exactly a good kid in school but I didn’t ever imagine myself in jail wanting to go home. Looking back, going home was a very normal thing, but right now I don’t even have a choice to. I will at some point but today I will be sleeping here at jail, not at home in my bed. I am used to it already but exactly five years ago I probably would be watching TV or something
Continue ReadingWe Are a Community Right?
by Mr. Francisco “Frank” Gonzalez, RJ Donovan State Prison in San Diego, CA It has been quite a while since I’ve written to the great pages of The Beat Within with a powerful positive message that wow’s you every time. It’s 2022, and the unprecedented pandemic is hard to ignore these days. I’ve traveled this great state from within its prisons from Pelican Bay to the sunny side of RJ Donovan where I now find myself on a level 3 for the first time in my life (incarcerated life of 30 years). To begin with, I do not and did
Continue ReadingMy Gift
by Truth N Poetry, San Quentin, CA “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”-Pablo Picasso My gift is using words, poetic expressions which uplifts, heals and informs and if need be create a fire. Most of us have been cautioned since our youth that “words have power,” and if you are not going to say anything nice be quiet. I choose to use my gift of words to heal and help, rather than hurt others. See owning our power is in every decision. Yes, we all have the power
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Volume 27.31/32
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 27.31/32
It’s the last days of August, and we warmly welcome you devoted readers back to another double edition, 27.31/32, of The Beat Within. What a beautiful and most inspiring magazine we have to share with our important and most powerful community of friends, writers, readers, associates, partners and colleagues, to name a few. We hope you enjoy reading this one-of-a-kind magazine to see what your favorite writers have to say. Starting with OT, as he has plenty to share this week in this editorial. This is OT reporting live from the hot tropical, muggy and the lightning striking skies
Continue ReadingHow I will Prepare for my Future…
by Ivan, Santa Cruz A way that I’m going to prepare myself for the future is that, one, when I get out of the hall I’m gonna be looking for a job for myself. I look forward to bettering myself and do good things. I want to do good for things that do not affect me. Another thing to prepare for my future is that I’m learning things here at the hall. I’m also preparing myself for the future to try to enroll myself to take some college classes or to work for construction, so when I get out I’ll
Continue ReadingSociety Needs To Change
by Lily, San Francisco I could change one problem in the world, it would be society. Why? you ask. Because social media has made it so that you’re not cool if you don’t fit the image that Instagram or Twitter has put out. If you don’t have Vape or Jordans you’re broke or you don’t compete. So a lot of people put this mask on because who they are doesn’t fit the Instagram look or is not following the trend. It’s too many rules or should I say standards for our young people. And being on social media is hard
Continue ReadingRunning Out of Time
by Efren Bullard, Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, CA Has there ever been a time in your life where you felt like time was slipping away? For almost three decades I have felt like I missed so much of life that for the first time in my life I thought, why not tell you guys what I’ve been thinking and feeling. I grew up spending most of my life in Juvenile Camps, California Youth Authority, and Prison. Never really experiencing much of anything. I haven’t really had a meal with my family sitting at a table in my life. We
Continue ReadingPriorities
by Antoine Williams, Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, CA Throughout the course of my 37 years of living I would say half of that time was spent seeking things that I thought were important. When I was a teenager I believed that having a lot of girlfriends, money and street cred were the goals to strive for. Without question, if it was not about these things it did not matter to me. So from the age of 13 to 15 years old I was in the streets with no regard to how my actions would impact me, my family, or
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