42 Years Poem by Angela Wybrow

42 years,
Just for stealing a car;
42 years:
A life behind bars.

Okay, so it wasn't
The guy's first offence,
But 42 years:
It just doesn't make sense.

He was skating on ice:
Ice, pretty thin;
But what tipped the balance
Was the colour of his skin.

In '50s America:
In the United States,
Against non-whites,
There was uncalled for hate.

He got 42 years,
With no chance of parole;
Locked in a cell,
Till he grew grey and old.

42 years:
It's pretty hard to believe;
Just what were the authorities
Trying to achieve?

Time spent in jail
Should reflect the crime,
But more blacks than whites
Found themselves doing time.

He wasn't an angel,
It has to be said,
But a short-term sentence
Should have been given instead.

42 years:
It really is crazy;
Sometimes legal guidelines
Can appear somewhat hazy.

Against this guy,
The odds were quite stacked,
And that chunk of his life,
He will never get back.