Alcatraz

Alcatraz, an island thriving on anger and fear
Prisoner’s prayers and whimpers are all you hear
My bed mat and sheet keep me cold
I’m now 0215 not Luis so I’ve been told
My night mares wake me constantly with sudden chills
I used to be sure that I was not a man who kills
Now my catholic soul lays in the body of a man who has sinned
I ask for forgiveness while prayers leave my lips and link with the wind

Losing time as years slowly drift
All due to a gunshot that was all to swift
Everyday expecting a visit but all that goes by is time
I’m trapped, for my sentence is a mountain I must climb
Time tenuously ticks by while the sun comes up to shine
From my cell I watch the rays of day and night intertwine
I have no clock I use shadows made by the guards and bars
The only way I know it’s night is by looking out at the stars

Cells are locked and guarded by men
Today I met a guard who by chance knew Gwen
The love of my life who I was taken from
On the sad dark day I chose to play with a gun
Pow, there went a smooth press of my index finger
I shot a little girl and I watched the blood on the concrete linger
I didn’t know whether I should run and hide but I knew it wasn’t fair to Pam
Her father’s words broke my heart like boulders breaking through a dam

Awakening me from myself pity I noticed a cry
He was placed next to me and he let out an all too familiar sigh
A sigh so calming yet it sent chills to my core
By chance my only brother was put in the cell next door
“Tommy you there?” I slowly questioned aloud
“Yea Lu” he chocked through his tears I could tell he wasn’t proud
“I killed her” he cried and hit the medal shelf he now had to call his bed
I could only imagine what he had done and what was going through his head
This day I thought would never dare to come
Now we’re both in prison being taunted by shadows of the sun
I didn’t mean to murder and neither did my brother

The thought of being like my father sends a feeling like no other
I look in my dirty cracked mirror and see his eyes
when I notice that they’re mine I let out silent cries
I know for sure that my brother feels this way as well
No one sane would trade a life of freedom for one trapped in a cell

Rodriquez is a name well known within these prison walls
I’m constantly reminded as I walk these dreary halls
Perhaps if I was born a different man id be with Gwen
But I was born Luis Rodriguez on a Friday at half past ten
It was my green eyes and black hair that got me Gwen my wife
But along with that came these strong rough hands that took a guiltless life
Pamela Hunt with her brown curls and a baby teeth smile lived a short life of just six years
And I’ll be reminded that she didn’t make it to seven with every one of my tears

Always questioning my life and whether it could have been different
I have a destiny to live out though even if it’s not pleasant
In the midst of all these thoughts into my cell a mouse comes
Is it fait or just his luck that In my pocket I had a few crumbs
His hungry eyes spoke to me and I knew exactly how he felt
He had to fend for himself and play the cards he had been dealt
He’s stuck on this island against his will watching the slow days pass on
Just like I sit in this cell in a higher power’s game being bet on

Zero, two, one, and finally five
These four numbers are favorites of mine
A sheer coincidence it isn’t I suppose
Must be destiny because this life I would not have chose
I would have tried to move inland somewhere cozy yet cold
Where I could have had children with Gwen and done something great and bold
But I’ll be in here for a while even if my patience is running low
I’ve been counting, I have just 30 years 3 days and 15 hours to go


By Victoria (2012)