No Prisons More Freedom by Khalil Hammond
Artist Bio My name is Khalil Hammond. I am limited in my access to supplies because of my confinement status in the restricted housing unit. I drew a piece that symbolically represents the theme of a free world, with the statement ‘A world without chains would be free’. My work also represents the idea of the metaphorical destruction of the department of corrections, as a way to say that no prisons would lead to more freedom.
Medium: Pen and colored pencil
Size: 8.5 x 11
Poem:
Without Restraint By Khalil Hammond
Free to me …
Means without restraint
Cut and dry
No need to fill in blanks
No ceilings made of glass for us to shatter others’ hopes and dreams …
That we won’t exceed the expectations that they make-believe
No jails to segregate the ones we knew, but system made us doubt
A system based on profit, but who profits from a broken house
No more lies told to children …
By adults who try to shield them …
From truths they think will break them down …
Instead of upward build them
This only teaches deceit
A vicious cycle to beat
It’s toxically suffocating
Turning people into beast
But aren’t we human beings
I think this used to mean that we were brilliant
Survival of the fittest
Fittest being those whose most resilient
No more hatred
Hate is the reason that we are faced with …
People living today like they think tomorrow won’t replace it
I’m tired of turning on the news and seeing the new faces …
Of the slain …
By the ones they thought would keep them safest
No more patience for ignorance
But let‘s teach; instead of criticize
Don’t be the hindrance
Be the engine that motivates the drive
If knowledge is power …
Then power is where progression lies
To free the body …
You must first consent to free your mind.