On our return to the UK, we received this seasonal poem from The Prophet, who has contributed his work to the blog once before. Although Christmas has come and gone, we feel that his powerful message is still relevant today.
Also, we would like to wish all the blog readers a Happy New Year, and a big thank you from Jon for your consistent support. He remains cheerful and optimistic and looks well in spite of his situation. As we are now in 2006, we can now look forward to our son’s release in late 2007.


Correctional Christmas

No lights in the windows,
not a gift to be found,
My bare swollen feet
wish to kiss the cold ground.
The trees are all missing,
no pine in the air,
As I run these cramped fingers
through the gray of my hair.
I’m trapped in this box,
not a bow or a string.
The screams for some sanity
the only carol they sing.
Guess the jingle of chains,
is the closest I’ll be,
To the sounds of old Christmas
I now think of with glee.
For it’s correctional Christmas,
and all through these cells,
are the wonders and worries
of this temporary hell.
So locked in our cages,
Doomed to our fate
I wonder, can there be Christmas?
Or is it too late?
Then just as this Christmas,
Seems to tick on its way,
I lean toward my celly
And here’s what I say.
Not a bar or a lock or a prison on earth,
Can steal from my soul the joy from Jesus’s birth.
My cellmate then adds
In what seemed like mid-toss,
Let’s not forget Jesus died on the cross.
Then as we settled
in our cots stocked like crates
For a moment of clarity,
was our Christmas fate.
Nor the jailors or wire,
or the walls that surround.
Could stop these two prisoners
from the Christmas they found.
So blessed be the convicts,
That find themselves here,
And I pray that your Christmas
is a free one next year.

*dedicated to my friends imprisoned over the holidays

©Copyright2005 prophet

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi,
i read the article in cosmopolitan magazine and you all have my full sympathy. it is terrible to hear about the conditions. i understand you must all be very worried about him. unfortunatly it is all too easy to fall onto the wrong side of the track especially with the rave scene, as drugs such as lsd and acid are widely available. but, whilst reading the article something told me that he seemed innocent and, why did it take so long to cinvict him? maybe because of lack of evidence! anyway, i want you all to know that there is a brighter side to everything. he seems like a fighter and will be ok. just want you all to know that there are people out there who support you all and wish you all the best. good luck. xx

Anonymous said...

helo,
i dunno if you will recive this email or not...worth a try.
i was reading a mag in the salon this morning and i read a story in there about you! your sister told the story very well and almost reduced me to tears :(
well i saw the web address and jotted it down on my hand, i had a look on the blogspot site, My heart goes out to you.
good luck for the future and all i know you must get many emails similar to this one but o well.
Anyways
bye bye x x
Ali (cheltenham, england)

Anonymous said...

hey there jon
i read the article on cosmo yesterday and made sure to remember to come check out the site that your family have so beautifully put together
i just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year, as difficult as that might be in jail, we can still hope for all the cockroaches to miraculously die and disappear to make it a year that is slightly happier than the last
well good luck and i will be reading your blogs whenever i can, know that youve got a reader all the way in saudi, now how people you know can say 'hey i know a muslim girl whos lived in london all her life is supporting me all the way in saudi' heh heh just a thought

take care
mona
p.s. this is to Karen: my brother once lost contact with us, i was in tears weekly wondering what is happening to him, thankfully he decided not to ignore us after 6months and now thank God everything is normal, i dont want to even think of the possibilities he went through during that time, but i just wanted to say even though your case is much much harder than mine was i can totally understand part of what youre going through, weve gotta be strong, you seem to have such a lovely supporting family, i am positive you will get through this and in time this will all be history



"Through dangers untold and hardships outnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City. My will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great. You have no power over me!!" Labyrinth

Anonymous said...

Thanks to the prophet for another brilliant poem.
Janice UK

Thane Eichenauer said...

I see on the DOC website that his sentence shows an ERCD of 07/20/2010. How is it possible that he is going to be released in late 2007?

Anonymous said...

I guess the guy has some time off for good behavior? Don't you get parole after so long?
He sounds like a model prisoner to me. Reading and yoga and all that shit.

Anonymous said...

Jon, are you still in prison? I cant find any postings for this year??? hope you arent still in there but if you are it won't be much longer, hang in there. Karen, near london, U.K.