Marteze Harris #161543
Waupun Correctional Institution
Post Office Box 351
Waupun, Wisconsin 53963

Wow! It feels good to be back blogging with Between the Bars. It seems a longer than three months, but then that is prison life: everything seems longer within these walls. However long it has been, I am glad that the founders of this website found a way to keep it running.

I knew that pressure would come from within the Department of Corrections all over the country. A free uncensored blog site for prisoners? Absolutely now! The system has to have some control. To hear our voices, know who we are. And if we say things that they don't like, they can silence us.

That is the beauty of having a blog, so that we as prisoners can have a voice, be heard outside of these walls. So that you, the people, will know that not all prisoners are remorseless, savage animals, heartless killers, and unredeemable. That is not for all. Yes, some but not all. That is what our blogs do: give you, the people, a chance to see us at our most vulnerable through our writings, poetry, photos, and drawings. We are as human as the next person! But the powers that be don't want you to see that side of us. They would like you to continue to fear us, hate us, and pray that they keep us locked down forever.

If you take the time to know us, then your feelings, thinking, and wishes will change. So please read our blogs, tell your friends, families, and associates to read our blogs, and know that some of us need redemption and want it.

So I thank the founders of Between the Bars for not just shutting the site down completely. Because blog sites like this are truly needed.

Well, we are allowed to title our blog sites now. That is good and I like it, but the problem was coming up with a title. I have finally found the perfect title for my blog site. Tell me what you think: The Rose That Grew From Concrete. That is my name. It is from one of my favorite poets. I will also share with you one of my favorite poems by him. I don't know if I can even tell you his name because I don't know how this new DOC monitored site works, so if I leave him unnamed, then it may be okay. The poem is titled:

Sometimes I Cry
Sometimes when I'm alone
I cry because I'm on my own
The tears I cry are bitter and warm
They flow with life but take no form
I cry because my heart is torn
And I find it difficult to carry on
If I had an ear to confide in
I would cry among my treasured friends
But who do you know that stops that long
But who do you know that stops that long
To help another carry on
The world moves fast and it would rather pass you by
than to stop and see what makes you cry
It's painful and sad and sometimes I cry
And no one cares about why.

Even though I did not compose that poem, it is powerful to me nevertheless because it speaks to me on so many levels. I have felt like that and I still do to this day. Even prisoners need someone to make them feel loved and alive. So I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope that you will continue to follow my blog. Until next time.

Teze