To a Poet in a Penitentiary

``I have set before thee an open door,

and no man can shut it.''

- Revelation

For you, to be on the inside looking out

is to find a window of prayer in poetry,

learning a vision

that infiltrates despair. The dead weight

of prison life turns into paradox.

You set words gently free.

Your days become unshackled in your poems....