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zdebbPoems
i know that half a mile to the west is the river's bank and three miles across the river is iowa. i know the smell of the river in the wind is madly blessed wet. smell of marsh rot  turning to green life turning to bigger beautiful life. i know that i hear nothing but the wind passing my ears and my own heart beat. i know surprise as the wind lifts my shirt and cools me. i know  the song of the sparrow joining to the song of the meadow lark joining to the song of the tree  wind shaken a lone sentinel on the prairie. i know a secret path  to a green plateau were you can see a great stretch of the river her sloughs, islands and a prison. i know a prison is a building designed to keep men from knowing what i know.
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Jan 14
Jan 14, 2026 at 2:17 AM UTC
in the distance i see a prison
i know that half a mile to the west is the river's bank and three miles across the river is iowa. i know the smell of the river in the wind is madly blessed wet. smell of marsh rot  turning to green life turning to bigger beautiful life. i know that i hear nothing but the wind passing my ears and my own heart beat. i know surprise as the wind lifts my shirt and cools me. i know  the song of the sparrow joining to the song of the meadow lark joining to the song of the tree  wind shaken a lone sentinel on the prairie. i know a secret path  to a green plateau were you can see a great stretch of the river her sloughs, islands and a prison. i know a prison is a building designed to keep men from knowing what i know.
Written on a bicycle trip from Galena, Illinois to Clinton, Iowa. The prison is the Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson.
#prison#nature#illinois
Written by
zdebb
72/M/Northern Illinois
Jan 14
Jan 14, 2026 at 2:17 AM UTC
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