Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform – New Hampshire

Orange is the New Black.

A poem by

Cheyenne Harding
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Once upon a time
I had a dream.
That was before
My future was torn at the seams.

Orange skin of sin stay away.
Property of the state for mistakes I made
Still waiting for the day to be able to turn my page.

The color of my skin staining fast.
My label won’t let me escape my past.
My former self that I once knew
Ran away in shame, it‘s true.

My sanction has ended.
A slave now freed.
I’m sorry for those I’ve offended,
But shackles still wear me.

Home has faded to concrete comfort.
Exposed to society,
may be free
Open fire vigilante!

Damned to be the victim,
discrimination’s friend.
Hunted by a world wide dictum.
A fatal trend.

Mercy shall not come
Death come you may
A systematic sanction
Sent me to my grave.