Prison,

The name and the place,

Is the sum of its parts.

 

P is for penal penitence,

Practised in the penitentiary.

 

R is for remorse and regret,

For the wrongdoing.

 

I is for isolation,

From the community and from loved ones.

 

S is for solitary,

Both confinement and alone with your thoughts.

 

O is for oppression,

Of the body, the mind and the spirit.

 

N is for naught,

What it was all for.

 

© Julian Knight 2009