It is important to reflect on the impact reading and writing in prison can have on an individual. Writing is a really positive way to rehabilitate whilst in prison. Many of the people we support write stories and poems and send them to us. They are often published in our newsletter, here is a selection for you:

Ancestry

Can’t relax till I find my home
Off this beaten track, it’s good for the soul
Leaving your past, still hear Mum’s talk
Even though she’s passed
Her longboat floats back in... Imagine!
She bursts into flames while I’m still standing

It hurts to change - to break old patterns
I’m pushed and pulled back like a magnet
My heart is RED flagging - “Get me out of here!”
Time for some action, remembering her tears
She mentioned a captain, my great granddad
Were from a Nordic family when love ones call
I’ll leave Australia, ain’t no other land
Liek England and Scandinavia
See the culture in me, time to find my ancestry.

Ben, Australia

Touch

Touching of the hands as you pass your friends,
Acknowledging you are not alone.
Giving us each a glimmer of hope we so badly need,
But it’s forbidden here.
Such lonelieness, surrounded by many, yet touched by none,
Deprived of affection of any kind.
We have to make our touching hidden.
I stretch out my hand to you today,
Please hug me,
I’m slowly dying without human contact.
HV, Japan

My pen

My pen sacrifices the content of its life,
and now my thoughts travel along these
papered roads. This willing act
granst our minds a special place to roam,
and when they return with another’s
thoughts a relationship hence grows
I appreiate every pal that picked up a pen
To let us know we’re not alone
In these times, we embrace
Every letter that chaperon
Comforts of home.

Reginald, USA

I thank you for your kindness
Without you on my side, I am absolutely hopeless.
For all those times you helped see me through
Believe me, you saved my life, it is true.
When I look into your eyes and read your mind,
Attraction and beauty all I find.
Every night, before I sleep
I make two wishes as I close my eyes:
For you to be happy,
For me, to survive.

From ‘A’