Inside The Confined Mind is a collection of lyrical poems and philosophies that reflect the journey of Angelo Daniels, who has spent the last 31 years incarcerated. Here are two excerpts from this forthcoming book.
MY CONFINED THOUGHTS
In the prison I roam like the shark that travels
through the deepest depths of the ocean,
knowing that if I don’t stay on point I could become
a victim of circumstance among
the other predators around me that roam it,
I have been through many battles and weathered many storms
and seen many things that damage the
weak soul who can’t handle or control it.
To grow from a child to a man in this prison environment
means I had to learn quickly and learn as I went,
knowing full well that If I didn’t protect myself I would
become a victim of this environment.
My only fear was that I didn’t have any fear.
That meant I could become trapped in this environment,
because before I would let another person violate me
I’d spend the rest of my life in this environment or
die right there on that pavement.
It’s kind of crazy how the weak fall victim in this environment
and the strong survive.
You either become a victim of circumstances or you fight to
survive and stay alive.
Many good men have lost their lives and I mourn their loss.
But it’s never just been about toughness.
It’s also about respect, giving grace, and being smart
if you want to pull this mission off.
A lot of other people lost their lives in a different kind of way,
Meaning they couldn’t stand the pressure so they were robbed,
checked in, taken advantage of, or just let the drugs take them down.
They lost their heart and couldn’t protect their character.
So to me, they died a different kind of death without dying at all.
I learned that if you didn’t protect your manhood or your character
you were a dead man walking.
I had the attitude that I was either pushing or fighting
because I wasn’t going for nothing.
I was never going to be a victim because
that was the first rule my mother taught me:
I didn’t raise no punks is what she always told me.
You better fight back. Even if you lose, you protect your character,
Behind these prison walls is a crazy place.
You can remain stuck, what we call being institutionalized,
or you can grow to become a better man.
I chose to learn from my mistakes
and it taught me a few valuable lessons:
How to correct my mistakes, find my purpose,
and not let my past mistakes define me.
Now I have become a better man
in spite of the mistakes I made in the past.
I mentor the young,
so they won’t go down the same path
and teach them that their character
is their foundation as men.
So, protect it at all times and strengthen it as well.
We live and we learn in life
and we become stronger as we lift the weights
of knowledge and understanding,
To know is to have learned
and to have learned is to know
not to repeat the same mistakes.
Learn the wise ways of life.
Become wise in your thinking
and wise in your ways.
