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Carlo C Gomez Aug 2021
~
"...Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil..."
-- Psalm 23:4



This Achilles' heel
— die for yellow
the abruptness has come
sick shoddy steam engines
bellow

Big blue undone
don't bite the sun
seek out satin
adrift in the flatlines
of this soaring dystopian stockpile
just as the flaming Icarus
fell in exile

Unlock the nearest far
but lose a hand in the cookie jar
cockpit burn
— what new color
do we learn?

Promise me you'll live
beyond yellow
and on re-entry I'll play
the hedonistic fellow
falling from the summit

— Breaking atmo
with so great a speed
like it or not
I'll soon be eternally
freed

Starburst
and static talk
ionized trails
and blisters of aftershock

Remembering the capsule
under the tongue
remembering the break-up
under the sun

Sensing fascination
in an endless stretch of graveyard
Duke of the avant-garde
this abstraction is now
my calling card

We're at the threshold here
reshaping into debris
and I'm wondering
just so wondering
if you will ever find me
STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. An in-flight break up during re-entry into the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killed all seven crew members.
Ahsaki G Aug 2015
Why Reentry? some may ask
A waste of time, a too big task?

They committed a crime, let be what will be.
Lock them up and throw away the key?

It’s not that easy as you will see
Because they eventually get out and neighbor you and me.

The deck has been shuffled and we don’t always choose our card
Some of these inmates weren’t raised, they grew up, and life was extremely hard.

Some call it dumb choices, others youthful
indiscretion
Some were forced into these positions by the
culture of oppression.

Now, there’s no place for pity, but many of the
stories are untold
With firm and consistent direction, we can see new lives unfold.

Some have never had a checking account or paid a legitimate bill
These are basic everyday functions that each of us can help instill.

It’s the ones that want the assistance to get back on their feet
Those are the ones that we prepare to identify their needs and meet.

That’s what reentry is… preparing them for another chance
To try and make better choices, and in life have a better stance.

None of us are angels; some could’ve actually caught a case
One more dumb decision could have landed OUR butts right in their place.

Can you imagine life without a job, no way to pay a bill?
Can you imagine no money for medicine if you child or spouse was ill?

Unable to get a car to take you from place to place
Unable to pride fully look another man
directly in his face.

This “second prison” hinders them as a result of their crime
This second prison should not exist once they’ve done their time.

Their families and children need them, it’s hard enough out there
These fathers should be taking care of their family’s welfare.

Children raised without a dad are at high risk to offend and fail
By helping their fathers do better we help the children stay out of jail.

Care and custody is what we’re tasked to do
The examples that we all set is what they will look too.

We can’t do it all by ourselves, resources are what we need
Volunteers and community resources help US help them to succeed.

We have to make them better then when they first came in
For some it’s a fresh start for their improved life to begin.

With hundreds of thousands of  inmate releasing year by year
Reentry increases readiness thus reducing public fear.

So inmate is their title for now, but one day they will be out again
We can increase the likelihood that they do not reoffend.

Let’s rally behind reentry efforts, we have much to give
Let’s help secure our own safety and the way that we ALL live.

— The End —