Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

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About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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ISSUE NO. 13

AUGUST 2024

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Poetry

Losing Control

By

Goodj

Goodj writes from a prison in Queensland.

Willy Pleasance

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“LISTEN UP! LISTEN UP! ATTENTION ATTENTION!”

The calls we hear every day

Whether guilty or claiming you’re innocent

There’s a price we each must pay

“It’s a privilege not a right”

You’ll hear the screws say  

But the moment you’re behind those bars

Your control is taken away

“Get back to your cluster, get ready for muster”

We’re herded around like we’re cattle

Caged, enraged and feeling enslaved

Most not prepared for the battle

Requests fall on deaf ears, for months sometimes years

A game they don’t teach you to play

You think that you’re winning and walk around grinning

But the Parole Board will have the last say

When they get something wrong we laugh and sing songs

But then we face lockaway

Finding a ning who’ll admit their mistake

I won’t hold my breath for that day

Wearing the blue with black polished shoes

They sit in the bowl and they dwell

Coming in crews with the power they abuse

And try to make our lives hell

We sit and we wait ‘til they open the gate

To finally be out of this hole

From my head to my feet, with every heartbeat

I know I’m losing control

“LISTEN UP! LISTEN UP! ATTENTION ATTENTION!”

The calls we hear every day

Whether guilty or claiming you’re innocent

There’s a price we each must pay

“It’s a privilege not a right”

You’ll hear the screws say  

But the moment you’re behind those bars

Your control is taken away

“Get back to your cluster, get ready for muster”

We’re herded around like we’re cattle

Caged, enraged and feeling enslaved

Most not prepared for the battle

Requests fall on deaf ears, for months sometimes years

A game they don’t teach you to play

You think that you’re winning and walk around grinning

But the Parole Board will have the last say

When they get something wrong we laugh and sing songs

But then we face lockaway

Finding a ning who’ll admit their mistake

I won’t hold my breath for that day

Wearing the blue with black polished shoes

They sit in the bowl and they dwell

Coming in crews with the power they abuse

And try to make our lives hell

We sit and we wait ‘til they open the gate

To finally be out of this hole

From my head to my feet, with every heartbeat

I know I’m losing control

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A place for news and education, expression and hope.

Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.

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