earth will not be able to hold me beneath the dirt sifted down from lofty mountains to this field my anger will shimmer through grasses planted to root us below and burst forth as earthquakes when you judge me to death I advise total cremation with dust spread throughout the state -r soos "To enter these poems is to place yourself before authority and grow cold in its shadow. There are contending forces at work here in anger and introspection, with the latter urging the spirit to survive. Beyond the accused's ...
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earth will not be able to hold me beneath the dirt sifted down from lofty mountains to this field my anger will shimmer through grasses planted to root us below and burst forth as earthquakes when you judge me to death I advise total cremation with dust spread throughout the state -r soos "To enter these poems is to place yourself before authority and grow cold in its shadow. There are contending forces at work here in anger and introspection, with the latter urging the spirit to survive. Beyond the accused's guilt or innocence is the question of dehumanization in a system obsessed with punishment." - David Chorlton , poet, Arizona "r soos' Cell Notebook is a deeply moving, intimate, introspective look at a human being's inner and outer reality leading up to and while being incarcerated. Through the exploration of vulnerability, hopelessness, anger, and resilience, the author challenges us to feel and scrutinize the crushing power of the state over a single individual it views as disposable, as well as exploring issues of innocence, guilt, and society's role in relegating some to an unfortunate path. soos places us in the confines of a cell, and challenges us to experience what it does to the person inhabiting it, what we might do if we found ourselves in the same situation, and whether we would maintain the same cavalier attitudes toward locking people away and robbing them of their ability to live if we were objects of scorn. Throughout the journey, soos reminds us that strength, beauty, and truth never need leave our sides." - Guy Farmer , The Poet Community , ... "Sometimes we forget that convicts are normal people. We presume that they're all psychotic, brutal murderers who doesn't deserve better. Sometimes we forget that that convicts can be innocent, serving time for a crime they didn't commit. Sometimes we just close our eyes for injustice in the name of justice. We all make mistakes in life, no one is flawless. Yet we consider all convicts as badass felons, no better than the dirt under our shoes. This journal is about a man convicted, and the process what happened during trial and jail time. At first the disbelief about what is happening, followed by a trail of emotions: numbness, doubts, despair, bitterness and anger. Anger about the betrayal of a loved one, the way he's treated in prison, the indifference of the guards, the arrogance of the judges and the self-glorification of the lawyers who have no other purpose to score and upgrade their successes. Powerful poetic writing from soos, you can taste the several mood swings, feel the anger and humiliation larded with refreshing sarcasm and humor. You also sense the incentive to continue and eventually start a normal life again. - Daginne Aignend , poetess, Netherlands "In the Cell Notebook , r soos tells a story mixed with different emotions mirroring the thoughts of an individual arrested for a crime not committed. This generates inconceivable feelings poured out into a notebook. He expresses his emotion with a pen, from the Court house to the unexpected reactions of different ranking officers running the cell. In this book we discover what the Chaplain, Librarian, Warden, Guard and the Cook think of his notebook. This book helps the reader explore the world behind four cell walls." - Elsie Godwin , Founder of ELSiEiSY "Beautiful and incisive commentary on man's deepest questions and yearning for the ultimate answers" - Neal Beightol , poet, New York A very special thank you to the editors who first published these poems in their fine magazines: Dissident Voice, Tuck, VerseWrights, Poem Hunter, ELSiEiSY, In Between Hangovers, Contemporary Poets, Cuento, MicroPoetry, The Poet Community, Random Poem Tree, and Your One Pho
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