still behind these walls

Seventeen — a kid with fire in his chest,
Thought the world owed him, thought crime was a test.
Ran with the wolves, no thought for the cost,
One wrong move, and my freedom was lost.

Cat A first — locked tight, no sleep,
Where screams echo deep, and secrets creep.
Cat B came next — a little less steel,
But still no sunrise I could feel.

Then Cat D — a taste of near-free,
Jobs on the wing, a walk by the sea.
Thought I’d make it, thought I’d change —
But old ghosts called, and I stayed the same.

Now Cat C, a man grown grey,
Thirty-five winters have stolen my days.
Seen boys turn men, men fade to ghosts,
Seen time itself toast the ones it loves most.

No more fights left, no more pride,
Just ink on paper, nowhere to hide.
Still dream of roads I’ll never roam,
Still call these bars my borrowed home.

Seventeen once, full of rage and flame —
Now fifty-two, still wearin’ my name.
The system changed me, or maybe it didn’t —
Either way, I’m still here… unbidden.