10-12 Year-Olds

by Dortell Williams (incarcerated at LA County California State Prison)

How is it, my dear

a misguided youth of 10-12 years

can be corrupted by adults or his peers?

In that short span of say, 2 years;

an urban generational fate

from the playground to the police

and then prison the gate.

Tossed away with an eternal date;

warehoused for perpetual profit

in the bloodied hands of the state.

The irony is clear, no doubt

a dearth of rehabilitation, a lack of reform.

Nothing whatsoever to tout.

Redemption in the military, rehab centers and churches churn

Yet CDCR fails dismally to teach or even learn.

30 years-plus it takes to reform 2 years of corruption.

It’s a farce, it’s an outrage

claiming to rehabilitate humans in a cage.

There’s another model that far exceeds abroad, Google Germany, Switzerland

or Norway’s prisons and grant the nod

You want public safety, humanity and morality wrapped in one and tame?

Stop the insanity, the profanity and inhumane shame!