The following poems are either not available in the several “collections” found elsewhere on this site, or they are of exceptional interest because of their quality and carceral origins. They represent the fulfillment of a lifetime of practice and study in the art of English poetry, and the author hereby releases them into the public domain.
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“8 December 2022: Money in Your Bra (for Kim Kardashian & Deborah Ross”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I. money in your bra \/ is a beautiful thing \/ you can wear granny-panties \/ or a gold g-string \/ but what’s even more precious \/ than a diamond ring \/ is money in your bra \/ such a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n II. money in your bra \/ in the time of war \/ there’s gunmen on patrol \/ and long lines at the store \/ but give peace.a chance \/ and pretend you’re poor \/ with money in your bra \/ in the time of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n III. money in your bra \/ at the border fence \/ international law \/ mixed with common sense \/ put on a few pounds \/ it’s just a civil offense \/ the money in your bra \/ at the border fence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IV. money in your bra \/ that you stashed away \/ it’s that time of the month \/ but you skipped a day \/ it’s September now \/ but it’ll soon be May \/ so put money in your bra \/ the old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Dawson Gage @ Orange County Detention Center, Hillsborough, NC, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “24 January 2023: On the Algebra of Infinite Justice (for Arundathi Roy & Bob Dylan). ~~~<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “(I) how many breaths \/ does it take to make a rhythm? \/ depends on whether \/ y’all are countin’ out with ’em.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (II) how many rhymes \/ does it take to make a scheme? \/ several if ya whisper \/ fewer if ya scream!<\/p>\n\n\n\n (III) how many crimes \/ does it take to make a habit? \/ for scapegoats, one \/ three or four for Brer Rabbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (IV) how many points \/ does it take to make a line? \/ how many coins \/ do you need to pay the fine?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (V) how may eggs \/ in the young maiden’s tummy? \/ how many hands \/ ’til she hits gin rummy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (VI) how many moons \/ before a boy should have sex? \/ how many ‘Y’s’ \/ does it take to solve ‘X’?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (VII) how many dates \/ ’til it’s time to propose? \/ how many violets \/ do you trade for one rose? (<\/p>\n\n\n\n VIII) how much paper \/ do you get for your gold? \/ how many minutes \/ will they keep you on hold?\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n (IX) how many matches \/ will you strike in the wind? \/ how many verdicts \/ ’til you know that you’ve sinned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (X) how many heads \/ ’til you call it a quorum? \/ how many voices \/ do you need for a forum?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XI) how many ballots \/ in the mandate of heaven \/ does a triple-six weigh \/ more than one good seven?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XII) how many particles \/ in every light wave? \/ do souls blend together \/ in a hidden mass-grave?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XIII) how many wives \/ did Lot lose at Sodom? \/ how many new hells \/ before we finally hit bottom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XIV) how many kisses \/ ’til you call it ‘true-lovin”? \/ can you count the White Witches \/ in the same red coven?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XV) how many bad words \/ ’til a kid gets detention? \/ can you be an outpatient \/ during in-school suspension?\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XVI) how many faxes \/ ’til they charge you with ‘stalking’? \/ if you fire five lawyers \/ can you do your own talking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XVII) how many tongues \/ in the tower of Babel? \/ when you use foreign terms \/ are you cheating at Scrabble?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (XVIII) how many raindrops \/ ’til the levies all burst? \/ the sword comes second \/ but the pen goes first!\u2026.-\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Dawson Gage, @ Orange County Detention Center, Hillsborough, NC, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n “5 Februrary 2024: Prayer of the Chinese Balloon (for Bo Xilai & Zhao Huaxu)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I walk along the midnight way \/ to wake in fear at noon \/ I care for nothing what they say \/ and howl at the hidden moon \/ for none can mark the judgment day \/ though I think it will be here soon \/ for all mankind I sit and pray \/ for the next Chinese balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Dawson Gage, @ Orange County Detention Center, Hillsborough, NC, USA <\/p>\n\n\n\n “10 October 2023: The Elemental Lamentations of Carolina (for Danielle Rothman)”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ====== I. it’s the thrum of a sinister readiness (II) —- Dawson Gage, @ Orange County Detention Center, Hillsborough, NC, USA \u201c11 September 2023: Due Course (for Thom Goolsby, happy birthday)”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I. II. III. IV. –Dawson Gage The following poems are either not available in the several “collections” found elsewhere on this site, or they are of exceptional interest because of their quality and carceral origins. They represent the fulfillment of a lifetime of practice and study in the art of English poetry, and the author hereby releases them into the public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":404,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-327","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=327"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freestyleking.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.”
–Lamentations 3:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a template for temporal darkness
a vision replete with distortions
perversions of heavenly writ
demonic conceits of the magistrates
enshrined in the tablets of law
the spectacle holds us in bondage
our feelings inflected with lies
tormented by private indulgence
no memory left unprofaned
the planet alight with emotions
the rituals thrown to the pit
the stones of the palace repurposed
for towers of limitless greed
the lessons of time immemorial
denied for the sake of consensus
divinity sold in the market
illusions installed at the gates
corruption exalted as natural
while strategy creeps through our veins
temptation confounds the believers
convenience envelops the nations
the righteous are made an example
while poisons are labeled as cures
derisions allowed in the pleadings
seduction encouraged in schools
the altars surrounded by sentinels
enforcing the prior restraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
no clue how my destinies touch you
with the notice of sacred dilemmas
but the fires which gleam in the newsflash
remind me of earlier days
expecting the seminal conflict
I reach for scriptures and runes
I cancel the lonely directorate
I rattle the secular cage
I’ll settle my scores in Hillsborough
then climb to the Tar Heel clouds
they will carry me off to Jerusalem
where I’ll kiss you right on the cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
======= “Save Israel, Free Palestine”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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although the moral arc is long
our days are rather short
and those who can’t tell right from wrong
are known to win at court
but separate from the vulgar throng
there is a different sort
for whom the law’s a working-song
and not the rich man’s tort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
there is an old unspoken rule
to never sass your betters
while renegades all act the fool
to wise agenda-setters
but some of us can keep our cool
and take apart the fetters
in time to join the honor-duel
that spirits fight with letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
if justice is not merely blind
but also deaf and mute
we’ll play the game of seek-and-find
until the question’s moot
though happiness be ill-defined
it’s worth the hot pursuit
and all life’s secrets are divined
when rights are absolute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the revolution, once betrayed
can only be repeated
the judge’s orders disobeyed
the case files all deleted
the sweet relief for which we’ve prayed
at last is now conceded
the prisoners freed, the sentence stayed
the due course unimpeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
@ Orange County Detention Center, Hillsborough, NC, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"