MY CRIME

Here inside the dark side, every man has his crime

For which he is responsible, for which he does his time

Murder, rape, trafficking, stabbing, and assault

They admit incarceration put their violence to a halt; n>

But what is my crime for which I was snatched away

And locked in a box painted pale blue, white, and gray?

They pondered day and night over what shocking web to weave

And in the end decided that what they want you to believe;

Is that the reason for which I sit behind these cement walls

Is: Terrorism! Assassinations! Weapons! And shopping malls!

Flashback to when they stood before the entire world and lied

Screaming 'WMD!' to render a slaughter justified;

If such could be done to fulfill that bloody vision

What's one more deception to throw one man in prison?

You might say there's no relation, but I'm telling you, my friend

Is all part of an obvious & expanding trend?

The crime for which the shackles squeezed & scarred my skin

Is that I want the oppressed to prosper and to win

The crime for which I was given this bright orange wardrobe

Is the crime committed by innocents all across the globe!

And my crime is my mind, uncolonized and free

And that I am not the house slave they want us all to be

And would not prostitute myself and agree to be of use

To an agency that made my people the target of its abuse;

These are my "crimes," for all to see and all to hear

To which I plead guilty without hesitance or fear...

(Tariq Mehanna)

27^th of Muharram 1431/ 13^th of January 2010

Plymouth Correctional Facility - Isolation Unit - Cell #108