Standouts - The Beat Within

The Beat Witout
TheBeatWithin.org
Page 64
The BEat Beat Without
Volume 17.01/02
Dear Beat
Hi. Once again, it’s JCL writing to The Beat from San Diego, CA.
Sorry I haven’t written lately, but I have been a little busy. I wrote
some pieces regarding some of your recent topics, and I hope they
can be published for all to enjoy.
Happy Holidays to all The Beat writers and readers! I know that
serving time is frustrating, (as you can tell, I’m locked up as well)
but just know that you got to keep your head up, and all will be ok.
I have some news for The Beat! First, my 19th birthday is on
December 31st!! (New Year’s Eve). Second, I am due for release on
February 16th, 2012. It will be the end of my nineteen-months of
being locked up. I look forward to it and I plan on staying busy by
doing positive things in my community so I don’t come back. The
best news of all…
… Let me start by telling The Beat a little bit about me. I never
met my biological family, except for my little brother. We have never
been separated. Me and my little brother were in foster care for the
first few years of our lives. We were adopted sixteen-years ago by a
wonderful family, which we both love dearly.
I began going astray around the age of nine, by acting up and
eventually I was put back in the foster care system to rehabilitate
my behavior. The first time I got locked up was when I was fifteenyears-old,
and I have been busted four times since.
To get to my point: I am acquainted with a program through
juvenile hall, which offer various resources. I took the initiative to
ask one of my case-workers to help me find my biological family. To
my surprise, my probation officer came to see me today and told me
I should be receiving a letter from someone who has been found to
be my biological sister.
Though my birthday isn’t until tomorrow (today is December
30, 2011), I can say this is the best gift I have ever received. I await
anxiously ‘till I can get a hold of a letter, I have waited 19 years for
this moment to come.
I want to mention how glad I am for meeting a pen/pencil. I
am extremely anxious and have so many thoughts and questions
running through my mind, and writing this letter to The Beat has
really allowed me to acknowledge the power writing has given me.
By writing this piece, I sense my nerves easing up, and I’m proud
to say that writing has taken quite a big amount of stress out of my
life.
I hope the young minds reading this can continue to read and
write poems, songs, raps, or any other form of literature as a way of
coping in life.
I look forward to updating The Beat on the status between me
and the sister I have never met.
Words to the Wise
It only takes one move to create a domino effect.
My Cell
A cell is no place for a man
It will torture your soul because it knows it can
The sinks are made of metal
The water it feeds is polluted
A cell will drive you crazy while your hope is slowly diluted
I got too much time to think
As I stare at the while blocks
The clothes on my back are fading
And I got a couple holes in my socks
My bunk is made of concrete
My mattress is half-an-inch-THIN
A cell is no place for man
It will shut you down slowly
Within
JCL
We are thrilled and honored to showcase our friend JCL in our fist issue
of 2012! We are really-really excited to read his next letter to us, and
we bet you will be too, after you read what he has to share. JCL has
been a steady contributor this past year, and we expect nothing less
from him in 2012, even though he will be free most of the year. Today
JCL writes us from East Mesa Juveile Detnetion Facility, Alpha Pod in
San Diego, CA.
My Soul
Jail took my freedom
My clothes
My cell phone
My wallet
But it will never take my soul
Jail took 19 months
Of fun
Of pleasure
Of family-time
But it will never obtain my soul
Jail can keep what it took
I don’t expect to be reimbursed
Just know that I am a warrior
And a warrior’s soul will always remain intact.
L-Wop
(Life With Out Parole)
25 to life is a scary thought
15 years old, in a cage left to rot
What makes a man worthy of L-WOP?
Killed, due to anger.
Anger, due to a grudge.
Attorneys, District-Attorneys and Prosecutors,
What makes you worthy enough to judge?
When was the last time a bullet grazed your head?
When was the last time
You saw your best friend dead?
60 seconds is never a lot.
But it’s enough to get poor kids L-WOP.
Throw a hundred grand
In the system’s face like cold water,
And it looks the other way
While reducing a case to manslaughter.
When a 15 year old
Can barely afford 25 cent slots,
He is eligible to make 10 cents an hour
Because he is serving L-WOP
I hope the young minds
reading this can
continue to read and
write poems, songs,
raps, or any other form
of literature as a way
of coping in life.