-Alejandra, San Mateo Hey, today they want me to talk about my ideal partner. My ideal partner is my boyfriend. He is everything I look for in a guy. He’s smart, respectful, loving, good looking, and he spoils me always. He’s nothing like the guys in our generation. He’s one of a kind. We’ve been through hell and back. No matter what, we’re always there for each other. He makes me feel happy, excited, and loved. We’ve been together since I was thirteen and he was fourteen. I remember it like it was yesterday. He’s my twin, my other half.
Continue ReadingMonth: May 2025
He Remembers He Has a Daughter
-T, San Bernardino For basically the majority of my life my father wasn’t really present. He was always out in the streets doing things that would always take him back to the same place. He has been getting locked up ever since I was little enough to not understand. I would say that a big role of why the way he lives his life is partly because of the drugs he does. The other reason is because of the adrenaline he gets from running away from the police. He enjoys the way he lives, except for when reality hits him
Continue ReadingThe Real Me
-John, San Quentin State Prison, CA I came to this country when I was sixteen with an unrealistic self-concept of what being successful looks like. Unfortunately, I did not have the grades nor the language to achieve those unattainable goals. Without a clean path to succeed, I just adapted and pretended to be more than I was. It was a costly practice. As a young adult, I worked for lawyers, politicians, and other extremely rich, powerful and successful people, by societal standards. I learned to talk like them, dress like them and think like them because I thought I wanted
Continue ReadingChange My Perspective of Life
-Aorrell, Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, CA Being in prison and losing my younger brother to gun violence has been by far the hardest and most challenging thing I have ever had to experience. Usually, I know all the right words to say, but through my constant flow of tears, insurmountable pain, combined with the harsh reality of being trapped inside of a world of pain. It’s hard to find the right word to say. Where do I even begin? Never once did I ever imagine a life without him. It seems like yesterday when we were kids. I
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Volume 30.13/14
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 30.13/14
Greetings to our readers, writers, and supporters of The Beat Within! We’re so glad to have you with us, and to present another stellar double issue of writing and artwork by our incarcerated community. We love when our facilitators share their thoughts on our weekly topics, as it gives us insight into the wide spectrum of experience we bring with us to workshop every day. For this issue, we have our longtime friend and colleague Michael Kroll with us offering his perspective on our our 30.13 topic, “I’m Proud Of…” Please join us in welcoming Michael to our editoral pages!
Continue ReadingOh Wretched Man I Am
-Nicholas, Sonoma Pride to the sun, to the wind in my lungsOh, wretched man I am, I have a lack of prideOh, how the deeds I could have doneWould have been great, but I fell victimTo my thoughts in the days I felt grey.The days I couldn’t cure, that’s why prideTo the moon, to the sun, to the stars,Because through everything I’ve lived,I’ve seen pride through my eyes allBut from within, for I was tempted with sin,Oh, wretched man I am.Pride to my father, my brother, my mother,How proud I am to those who loved me,My acts too little to
Continue ReadingA Strong Foundation
-JDC, Albuquerque I’m proud of my mom. It’s easy to be proud of a parent just because they’re your parent, but my mom has been through hell itself. I watched her from a young age struggle with her mental health. I know that if I struggled, I would try and give up. She never tried to give up but instead found ways to cope and still be the best mom I could’ve asked for. She implanted strong morals in all of her children. It might not have made sense back then, but the more I grew up, I realized I
Continue ReadingHow Does the Vicious Cycle Work?
-Hu, California Health Care Facility in Stockton, CA It has been said that two wrongs will not make it right. As long as a victim has been left with the ugly poison of resentment caused by a tragic act of evil, they may struggle to change their attitude of anger. They may carry this burden into their relationships with others, limiting their humanness. They may become so bitter that they act out in aggression or with the intentions of inflicting injury upon others vindictively. Evil cannot effectively be changed by evil. Evil must be weakened by the power of love.
Continue ReadingNot Well Directed
-C, California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville, CA Why am I here?Because I was not well directed in lifeOr disciplined or loved when I was young.I was growing, veered off to the right or leftRather than going straight,Didn’t hear the right guidance.I know I shouldn’t blame myself.
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