Of course you’ ve read about the prison break at Clinton Correctional near the Canadian border. Everyone in the neighborhood is alarmed; the governor’s declared a state of emergency. The hills and forests around Clinton are crawling with police, and bloodhounds. Helicopters search from above. Few of us will admit we’re rooting for the escapees. Here’s my admission:
The Saga of Richard Matt and David Sweat
From Clinton prison
There is no escape.
That’s what they say;
It’s the tale of the tape
Walls are thirty feet high
Twenty-four inches thick;
The guards are all psychos
Every one of them’s sick.
But don’t tell that to Ricky Matt
Or to David Sweat,
‘Cause laughter and derision
Are all that you’ll get.
You see, they’re real smart
And they’ve got power tools.
And besides that they know
All their watchers are fools.
They’ve got homies inside
Who hear noises at night
But they just don’t say nothin’
Their mouths are shut tight.
There are friendlies outside
Awaiting in cars
While Davey and Ricky
Break through concrete and bars.
Crawl through heating ducts and plumbing trails
(The journey seemed miles)
Then emerge from a manhole
Can you imagine the smiles?
But they’re killers, you say
And the saying is fair
But they’re no worse than Zimmerman
George Bush or Blair
Who still walk our streets
And give speeches for pay
And will never see jail
For even a day.
These guys have done hard time
Years in the Max
Where guards treat them like dirt
That’s just the facts.
Dave and Rick will be caught
And thrown into “the hole”
Where daytime’s like night;
They’re both black as coal.
But their tale will be told
It just can’t be denied
Like “Cool Hand Luke,” “Shawshank,”
“Bonnie and Clyde.”
Sweat and Matt give us hope
That we all can escape
From a system where jailers
Torture and rape.
Where they watch us like vultures
And control us by fear
These fugitives announce
Our deliverance is near.
Their whole saga supports
The conclusion I’ve reached
The securest of systems
All can be breached!
About Things That Matter 