Clouded Judgment

Jerimie's poem “New Get Down” uses wonderful, playful rhythm and rhyme to make a serious point. It is a call to action, a call to change, and a reminder that others are there to support us as we work our way to clear and positive decisions.

Description In his long poem “No More Victims,” Johnny describes coming to a newfound and deep respect for women; “I allowed lust to cloud my judgment,” he wrote. “And never gave any thought / To the definition of consent.” These are some excerpts from this powerful poem.

Robert's honest and powerful essay explores his change of heart about homeless and needy people when he saw his brother in that very situation, "living in a tent in the woods, begging for change just to eat, and bathing in a 5-gallon bucket."

Juan writes about the danger of making "snap judgments"--deciding we know a person well based on quick, and often careless, first impressions. We need to be mindful, he writes, of how it makes us feel when others do this to us, making assumptions about us instead of getting to know us.

“You see my changes, not me,” Mya writes in this carefully crafted essay, filled with rhythmic language and occasional rhymes. But being an inmate does not define or limit who she is; “I am no monster,” she says, “in no way, shape, or form.”

Zen (Austin)’s poem makes beautiful use of rhythm and rhyme, speaking to the self to comfort and support. “The past isn’t what makes you,” says the speaker of this poem, “and the whole world doesn’t hate you.”

In his poem "Tilted," Larry provides another way of thinking about thinking that is "Clouded from the abusive past." When this happens, Larry writes, our judgment becomes "tilted"--off center, too rapid, too influenced by our pasts. Only by "Freeing myself from the unforgiveness" does he find his way to a clearer and more complete understanding of others.

Prison, Kelsha writes in her beautifully illustrated poem, is a place where "Everyone [is] switched up." It's a place where she "went from wearing the finer things / to these old brown things" – and that change has allowed her to see the ways in which "feeling untouchable" in her former life seriously clouded her judgment.

A. Redd has written a powerful, straightforward poem about one of the biggest sources of clouded judgment: drugs. Her power builds to a powerful conclusion about seizing every opportunity while she’s incarcerated to get her “sobriety, life, and mind back in good health.”

Daniel writes about painful experiences from his past – having no one to trust, attending schools where he was "regularly hazed," etc. – that clouded his judgment and led to "poor choices." His poem concludes with celebratory language about his Christian faith, which has led to both clearer judgment and joy.