“Circle,” by B. Collins
Every day this week, The Imprint is publishing the winners from this year’s Words Unlocked Poetry Competition. The contest is held each year by BreakFree Education, and features the work of students in juvenile facilities around the country.
Today, we feature this year’s Third Place winner: “Circle,” by B. Collins, written at Bootcamp Perrin in Texas.
Circle
Our life is like a circle.
Going round and round.
Just waiting for a miracle
Listening closely for a different sound
Waiting for somewhere to go
Because we simply don’t know
Existing together as one.
Fighting a battle, we haven’t won.
Our life isn’t full of fun and joy.
It feels more like 50 people trying to share one toy.
This is not a place full of glee.
People don’t know what I’m going through unless those people are me.
But in the end we are still here.
We know everything even their fears.
Though they know what makes me cry
The fear we all have of saying goodbye.
In the end when we get out
Going home without a doubt
Will it be ok for me to cry?
Can I finally ask the real question of Why?
But when you leave don’t trip, don’t fall.
Because maybe life isn’t a circle after all…
This year’s winning poems were selected by a group of 35 volunteer judges. The final judges for the Words Unlocked Poetry Competition were a group of distinguished poets and essayists that our friends at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
The theme for this year’s competition was “Coexistence”:
“Existing together and at the same time; living in peace with each other. The strength of human bonds, across different backgrounds and divides, is powerful. While we cannot choose whether or not to live with others, we can choose how we want to do so. When we embrace tolerance, respect, and forgiveness, when we focus our relationships on shared meaning, we find success.”
BreakFree Education’s mission is to radically improve education in the juvenile and criminal justice systems by investing in the potential and dignity of all its students. To learn more about the Words Unlocked Poetry Competition and BreakFree Education’s poetry-writing curriculum for juvenile facilities, click here.