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. 1

AUGUST 2024

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Poetry

The Road to Redemption

Stepping forward

By

Elisa

Elisa writes from a prison in Victoria.

Willy Pleasance

Don't follow in my footsteps

It's been no Sunday stroll

No the road to redemption

Isn't paved in gold

It's rough and it's rugged 

And full of potholes 

Yes the road to redemption 

Is strewn with hot coals 

That blister and burn 

Then leave scars on your soul 

The road to redemption

Can't be found on the map

And no one can show you the way 

There's no easy path for you to traverse 

The signs will just lead you astray 

The road to redemption

Has forks and side tracks 

But don't let them tempt you 

And never turn back

Locked gates and high fences

There's even road blocks 

Don't be tempted by offers 

To open the locks

As there is no key 

It's a code you must crack 

On the road to redemption

When the day turns to night 

You can 't see the stars

And there's no guiding light 

Can't cross the bridges

You burnt on the way 

Or swim troubled waters

You leave in your wake

It will take all your strength 

To just stay afloat

Our hearts are held hostage 

Within the moat

Don't follow in my footsteps

It's been no Sunday stroll

No the road to redemption

Isn't paved in gold

It's rough and it's rugged 

And full of potholes 

Yes the road to redemption 

Is strewn with hot coals 

That blister and burn 

Then leave scars on your soul 

The road to redemption

Can't be found on the map

And no one can show you the way 

There's no easy path for you to traverse 

The signs will just lead you astray 

The road to redemption

Has forks and side tracks 

But don't let them tempt you 

And never turn back

Locked gates and high fences

There's even road blocks 

Don't be tempted by offers 

To open the locks

As there is no key 

It's a code you must crack 

On the road to redemption

When the day turns to night 

You can 't see the stars

And there's no guiding light 

Can't cross the bridges

You burnt on the way 

Or swim troubled waters

You leave in your wake

It will take all your strength 

To just stay afloat

Our hearts are held hostage 

Within the moat

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Love Breaks Chains

By Malnight

Oh how I can’t stand these nights alone

Wishing that i could just go home 

Never thought this is where I’d be

Constantly dreaming of being free

A simple twist of turning key

A little click and the locks on me

I can’t say the way i feel

Surrounded by concrete and steel

I’ve crossed the line from mad to sane

A million times over and back again

No one hears my cries and desperate calls

They just echo off these dungeon walls

Should have known passing through the gate

That once inside I could not escape

Without you i dont think id find a way

To get through the struggles of everyday

When everything just seems so wrong 

The thought of you keeps me strong 

Whatever torture and heartache remains

Our love will break the chains.

Read More →

ISSUE NO. 3

2 MIN READ

Creative
Jonathan Kho

Not Going Home

By Lance

When in jail some don’t want to go home, it’s true

Hard to believe, so I will find out more for you

Are the dudes for real, or a screw loose in the head

They would rather stay in jail, than going home instead

Read More →

ISSUE NO. 4

3 MIN READ

Creative
Ray Hennessy

Paradise or Prison

By Joseph

Our faces are seen above uniforms of green,

We parade in this prison, all shaven clean.

"Another day in paradise", we sarcastically wink,

"We fake it till we make it", we tell our shrink.

We feel like stock on a bar-coded shelf,

Stored, then shifted between warehouses of wealth.

At the mercy of 'sirs';, kids with keys,

Who are half our age, who we need to please.

On our hilltop horizon, some silhouettes appear.

Marching black cattle, grazing on the clear.

A trinity of eagles, wind-surfing thermal waves,

They see both sides of the hill as slaves.

In our prison tents, we queue, single file,

But over the hill, you shop in the same style.

While we crave to return to your 'greener' side,

The eagles see a truth that we all try to hide.

You crave an idyllic pine tree sojourn,

But our star-lit escape costs more than you earn.

You crave spinning windmills where regal eagles reign,

We crave spinning steering wheels and aeroplanes.

You see this tent as Her Majesty's prison,

But the eagle's lens sees a symmetrical prism.

While we bemoan an injustice miscarriage,

You may bemoan a miserable marriage.

Why wallow my walls of incarceration,

Within bedroom walls – your divided nation.

Between each brick you add cement,

When you let the sun set while your heart resents.

We're unleashed when we reach the sentence full-stop.

While you're life-bound to shackles you cannot chop.

Our hill orates its' sermon on the mount,

When we're down, we gaze up at this wisdom fount.

Are you a slave to the debts that never forgive,

While our temporary tent gives us temporary reprieve.

Eagles see paradises, and prisons without bars,

On both sides of the hill, where there's no greener grass.

Read More →

ISSUE NO. 3

3 MIN READ

Creative
Markus Spiske

I'll Never Come to Prison Again

By Joseph B

If I could dress it up and say I never felt better

That I’ve got a girl at home and I’m waiting for a letter

I’d pretend the kids are fine and doing well at school

And when I phone they say they miss me

And they think their daddy’s cool

Read More →

ISSUE NO. 1

2 MIN READ

Creative

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