Sharing here a poem that originally appeared in an anthology titled “My Life is Hard to Do.”

Written by a minor at the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center in New Jersey as part of a series of poetry workshops led by local librarian Flora T. Higgins.

The young poet has demonstrated imagination, verbal skill, humor, and profound emotional depth in the poem.

The poem provides a lens into the day-to-day experience of living and expresses a wish for freedom.

Me and My Little Jail Cell

I have no life.
No parents to please,
No friends to tease,
It’s just me and my little jail cell

I have paper and pen,
But no one to send my love to.
It’s just me and my little jail cell

The only life I have is a jail life,
Which, in fact, is no life at all.
I have no one to love
No one to hug
No one to say goodnight to.
All I have is me and my little jail cell.