In Potma Prison(Based On Survivors' Testimony) Poem by Sheena Blackhall

The struggle against the cold is never ending
All my warm belongings have been removed
It’s dog cold in the solitary wing
Only a blanket between you and freezing
Even the birds here croak as opposed to sing

Wake, when they bang on the bars
Stand when an officer’s present
Don’t toast bread, brew coffee that’s a crime.
Barked orders. Indoctrination. Everything jars

Kept alive on a diet of starch and water
Letters disappear both going and coming
And always the cold,
Pervasive, deadly, numbing

The Major in solitary
Bans all toilet paper
Prisoners must clean themselves
By hand and finger

To answer back, speak up
May bring a beating
Or worse, retrial... the weary years stretched out
All hope of freedom fleeting
Be like the three wise monkeys
Dumb and Deaf and Blind
Or you can kiss your liberty goodbye
In prison, out of sight and out of mind