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

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ISSUE NO. 20

March 2026

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Poetry

Prison Is Not Fun

By

Matt

Matt writes from a prison in the NT.

Matthew Smith via Unsplash

Prison is not fun, prison is not jolly,

There’s rarely any smiles and for the tears, bring your brolly.

Prison is dirty and prison is hard,

Lose focus for a minute and get done in the yard.

The guards are only here to lock you away,

do as your told, or you won’t see the light of the next day.

Fathers and sons and uncles and brothers,

We’re all in here together, for our crimes against others.

Whatever your grievance, your trouble or anger,

there’s a better way to advance, succeed and prosper.

Than to hurt those who love you, with bad choices, lies and danger,

Don’t blame others for your misery want and pain,

and don’t be jealous of someone else’s gain.

Only you have the power, to choose right from wrong,

and those choices determine, where you’ll be at the final gong.

For no matter the crime or how long you serve,

only you have the power to be remembered how you deserve.

Behaviour is learned both bad and good,

Environment can influence from the hills to the hood.

Don’t let where you come from determine where you go,

Only you have the power to forgive, and let go.

When you let go of hate, resentment and pain,

the sky is the limit for the happiness you can attain.

Mark my words you can find it no matter where you are,

Trust me I know this, because right now, I’m behind bars.

But by choosing to change and be kind to others,

We can put a smile on the hearts of our wives, kids and mothers.

For a life well lived is measured when your gone,

By whether people celebrate or if people mourn.

It’s never too late to apologise for what you’ve done,

So make the most of your time, and put down the gun.

Be good to yourself and be a good brother,

So when you leave this world, you’ll be missed by others.

Prison is not fun, prison is not jolly,

There’s rarely any smiles and for the tears, bring your brolly.

Prison is dirty and prison is hard,

Lose focus for a minute and get done in the yard.

The guards are only here to lock you away,

do as your told, or you won’t see the light of the next day.

Fathers and sons and uncles and brothers,

We’re all in here together, for our crimes against others.

Whatever your grievance, your trouble or anger,

there’s a better way to advance, succeed and prosper.

Than to hurt those who love you, with bad choices, lies and danger,

Don’t blame others for your misery want and pain,

and don’t be jealous of someone else’s gain.

Only you have the power, to choose right from wrong,

and those choices determine, where you’ll be at the final gong.

For no matter the crime or how long you serve,

only you have the power to be remembered how you deserve.

Behaviour is learned both bad and good,

Environment can influence from the hills to the hood.

Don’t let where you come from determine where you go,

Only you have the power to forgive, and let go.

When you let go of hate, resentment and pain,

the sky is the limit for the happiness you can attain.

Mark my words you can find it no matter where you are,

Trust me I know this, because right now, I’m behind bars.

But by choosing to change and be kind to others,

We can put a smile on the hearts of our wives, kids and mothers.

For a life well lived is measured when your gone,

By whether people celebrate or if people mourn.

It’s never too late to apologise for what you’ve done,

So make the most of your time, and put down the gun.

Be good to yourself and be a good brother,

So when you leave this world, you’ll be missed by others.

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