2 Prison Poems Poem by Sheena Blackhall
2 Prison Poems
The Cat o Nine Tails
Stretched on a frame in the bathhouse
Ankles and wrists lashed hard
Rab the cat was sentenced
His back to be flayed and scarred
By 20 ripping lashes
The cat o nine tails swung
Its tongues bit deep in his shoulders
And blood from his back was wrung
For back in the 1940s
The birch, noose, cat as well
Were weighed in the scales of justice
As punishment's arsenal
Scotland's Gulag: Peterhead Prison 1987
A riot, a rampage, an explosion of human rage
Fifty hardened criminals seized D block
Anarchy loosed from its cage
Determined to leave their mark
Murderers, rapists, knifers
Bedding and bed pans wrecked
Knuckles and skulls bruised black
Jackie Stuart, officer, snatched
Fifty six years old, hauled up on the open roof
And then, four days of terror tactics
The cons, in balaclavas made of rags
Barricades, booby-traps, flung slates, aerobatics
The hostage, leashed like a dog
Paraded before the press. A hood on his head
A blade at his throat. Cruel torture antics
Fifteen minutes overturned the odds
Twenty SAS men in fatigues, gas masked
Flash-bang canisters, with cudgels
Ladders, ropes and high explosives
Rescued the warder, the horror passed
The day given back to order,
The foghorn wail
The crash of the heaving waves
Tons of water, pummelling sand and rock
WOW! Twice chosen as The Member Poem Of The Day. Great Hurray! FIRST OF ALL: CONGRATULATIONS on being chosen as TMPOTD. God's Blessings for you and your beloved family. Incredibly beautiful poem with incredible Truth of the occurrences. I love poems like this, God's Bliss. I like honesty.
A poem on riot, rampage, and explosion of human rage has been touchingly delineated. Thanks and congratulations for being selected this poem as the poem of the day.
Paraded before the press. A hood on his head A blade at his throat. Cruel torture antics Fifteen minutes overturned......//// beautiful portrayed the torture cell of prison; superb poem penned, congrats for being selected this poem as POD
Sheena, you've penned well the horrific acts of the past. We can all learn from history. Congratulations on POD and thanks for posting. : -)
That is so powerful, so horrific I feel as if I was watching the horror before my eyes and my stomach is still churning.
A poem from the edge of human existence, which is an advantage. My only comment is that you use extreme, emotive language perhaps too much-' ripping lashes', cat 'o nine tails', 'back flayed and scarred' - where moderate words could have achieved more. 'Less is more'. Still an interesting poem.
The crash of the heaving waves Tons of water, pummelling sand and rock great great write great 10++++++
Great stuff, young lady. Also, congrats on this poem being chosen as 'POD. Big ups!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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9/15/2024 4:08:56 PM # 1.0.0.1119
MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2009 SHEENA became the poet laureate for Aberdeen & the North East of Scotland.