This section publishes creative contributions mostly from currently and formerly incarcerated people. It includes short-stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, and much more.
If you have something creative to submit to us, we would love to read it, or see it, and publish it in About Time – please write to us!
Do not cry by the window, gazing out to the sky. For I’ve not only left you, I’ll never say goodbye.
Window Pane is a reflection of childhood memories, looking outside of my bedroom, locked away.
Behold my friend, I am heroin, known by all as the destroyer of men. From where I came no one knows, a far away place where the poppies grow.
It’s been almost 10 years now, since my life has changed. For better or worse, nothing will ever be the same.
I fall, twisting and spinning in duress, a darkness complete, vast and eternal. An emptiness felt, thick as molasses, noises and sounds rend my mind infernal.
Do not cry by the window, gazing out to the sky. For I’ve not only left you, I’ll never say goodbye.
Window Pane is a reflection of childhood memories, looking outside of my bedroom, locked away.
Nowhere to go, as the new day is here? Holding on as the last threads, of my dreams disappear.
Givin’ my mum a hug, even for just a second. That’s worth a lot, worth the world I reckon.
‘Tis just another day behind the wall, with musters here and musters there, it surely wearies, one and all.
Life’s not a party my dearest darling, for we partied, now must you party alone.
No one can see the shame and guilt, trapped behind these eyes. As I sit here in a prison cell, all due to a pack of lies.
Clean me of this damaged life and make it right. And I swear I will do whatever it takes to be a better man. I swear it.
My partner and I are both currently locked up down here in Tasmania. Your newspaper has been a huge hit in both the women's and the men's prisons, so I thought I'd send you something from both of us.
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.
The voice is beautiful; my lungs fill with a relieved gasp. I expected a prison sentence. A feeling of chest tightening, breath weak, metal and voices. A life of strip searches and beatings.
The woman of my dreams; she isn’t there. The woman of my dreams; she doesn’t care. The woman of my dreams; she isn’t real. The woman of my dreams knows not how I feel.
Behind cement walls and razor wire, I can see a tall tree – swaying in the breeze it reminds me, the day I’ll be free. Then in come the birds from out of that tree, I watch these birds with envy and I wish it was me.
A wee bit of heaven, drifted down from above. A handful of happiness, a heart full of love. The mystery of life, so sacred and sweet, the giver of joy, so deep and complete. Priceless and precious, so loveable, too – the world’s sweetest miracle, baby doll, is you!
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.
Outside these prison walls exists real life, going daily about their business in haste. The hustle and bustle, too busy to stop, lives synchronised, and no time to waste.
Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
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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For more than 50 years, the world has celebrated International Literacy Day to remind us all of the critical importance of creating a more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable society.
We're asking for your support so that we can continue to provide Australia's incarcerated population with a voice – a platform of expression and hope, of literacy and storytelling.
We're asking for your support so that we can continue to provide Australia's incarcerated population with a voice — a platform of expression and hope, of literacy and storytelling.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
