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

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ISSUE NO. 10

May 2025

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Poetry

You Were Warned

By

Anastasia

Anastasia writes from Southern Queensland Correctional Centre in Queensland.

Daniele Franchi via Unsplash

If you turn to drugs instead, to silence the villains in your head.

Or to minimise the self harm to your arm, without causing alarm.

We're taught that harm minimisation is best in times of desperation.

When self medication is the only redemption,

To cure our frustration, we turn to injection.

There are other strategies such as turning to melodies

Which can soothe our souls, when our hearts are full of holes.

Maybe you’re weighed down by the guilt,

Through the traumatic memories you've built?

Or the tragedies that occurred, when those lines became blurred.

We simply struggle in silence, or struggle to be heard?

We may lose our freedom, but we still have our word.

So we hold our heads high, even as our children cry,

They lose their mothers, through our loyalty to others.

I don't expect you to care, as it’s my cross to bear.

This is my life, I never said it was fair.

I guess you could call it collateral damage,

The pain we inflict on our family is savage.

Whether you’re in it for the hustle, bustle, the goods or the cash.

Just an addict or user, who got pinched with your stash

Whether it’s stealing or robberies, a hustle or an earn,

Eyes open, mouth shut, is the first rule we learn.

So if you wanna run in our circles, or wanna do the crime,

This may be your fate, and you may get some time.

So live and die by omerta, and if you fail to do so,

Over to the other side is the only place that you'll go.

So next time you cry, wipe away your sobs,

Keep fresh in your mind, that you get that on the big jobs.

If you turn to drugs instead, to silence the villains in your head.

Or to minimise the self harm to your arm, without causing alarm.

We're taught that harm minimisation is best in times of desperation.

When self medication is the only redemption,

To cure our frustration, we turn to injection.

There are other strategies such as turning to melodies

Which can soothe our souls, when our hearts are full of holes.

Maybe you’re weighed down by the guilt,

Through the traumatic memories you've built?

Or the tragedies that occurred, when those lines became blurred.

We simply struggle in silence, or struggle to be heard?

We may lose our freedom, but we still have our word.

So we hold our heads high, even as our children cry,

They lose their mothers, through our loyalty to others.

I don't expect you to care, as it’s my cross to bear.

This is my life, I never said it was fair.

I guess you could call it collateral damage,

The pain we inflict on our family is savage.

Whether you’re in it for the hustle, bustle, the goods or the cash.

Just an addict or user, who got pinched with your stash

Whether it’s stealing or robberies, a hustle or an earn,

Eyes open, mouth shut, is the first rule we learn.

So if you wanna run in our circles, or wanna do the crime,

This may be your fate, and you may get some time.

So live and die by omerta, and if you fail to do so,

Over to the other side is the only place that you'll go.

So next time you cry, wipe away your sobs,

Keep fresh in your mind, that you get that on the big jobs.

Falling Like Angels

By Daniel

The pain that I feel, this place that I’m in, these four walls closing in…

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

As This Time Comes to an End

By Punkin

As this time comes to an end, I wonder which way the next will bend. The earth and moon will do their thing, I’ll embrace everything.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

‘God, I Am Deeply Sorry’: A Poem for the Prisoners We’ve Lost

By Triste

To all the prisoners who have ever spent time away from the ones they love.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

1 MIN READ

‘Tingers’ and the Squirrel Box

By Sara

In Creative Learning we get to see some amazing stuff made by talented people. The best part is hearing the stories behind how creative projects have come to life.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

Help Us Keep Publishing About Time

Without About Time, I don’t know where I would be – Mark, from a prison in Victoria

We need your help so that we can print and distribute the paper to every person in every prison for at least the next year. We value whatever you can spare, no matter how big or small.

Australia’s prison population is growing, and our many prisons are spread far and wide.

We need your help so that we can print and distribute the paper to every person in every prison for at least the next year. We need your help to cover postage for anyone who sends us a letter from the inside.

We value whatever you can spare, no matter how big or small.