Incarcerated Poem by DOMINIC PREMPEH

Thick walls with thick iron gates
Hard beds and insect infested cells
Hot and suffocating compounds
Scanty foods and few friends
This place has curbed my movement
It has limited my speech
And I’m always commanded

I pray for the day I will get out
I will shout to bring all the pain out
What I did, or did not
Just or not, it is past
Reminiscing might bring hatred into my heart
But I want reforms
And will imbibe the better ones

My home, no matter how bad it is
Shelters me well
And my little room, no matter how small it is
Consoles me better
Until I get out
I will try to adapt
And only wish for the day

(Aug.2004. Nii-Boye town; Accra)