Alive In Death's Stronghold

Again I awoke to the morning In the dark of my prison cell And again my Savior met me In this place so full of hell But I have a light within me Which shone bright all night long While God's spirit warred within me Against the bonds so strong As I stepped out on the tier I saw two lighted eyes Fueled by the same fire I carry Which made my Redeemer rise And right in that instant I knew I had made a friend A brother to love forever Where friendships never end No matter if I see him again We sat and ate together And shared of our love divine We saw no outer difference In color, his and mine Though all around us thought that way Fearing and hating the different We simply praised our maker For showing us what's true God's revealed in his every child No matter what his hue I've asked to meet my Jesus And gaze upon his face Today I know even more richly This beauty long open to me How beautifully he lives through every race Stephen Pursell, 9/28/01, This photo is of a typical cell in the California prison where this poem was written.  I my experience there are countless men in CDCR who like me have beautiful artistic gifts.  But the evil courts and prison system of California would rather punish and abuse the men for their mistakes than see them prosper in their gifts that would contribute to their home communities and indeed  to all mankind.