by Al Staggs

Slavery is out,

incarceration is in.

Lots of money to be made

from the slightest hint

of lawbreaking

especially if your skin

is black or brown.

Prisons are big business

just like cotton was years ago.

Making big money is fueled

by the gravy train

from the sheriff’s handcuffs

to the poor and powerless inmate

who lives in cement cells

with no air conditioning

as if God were nonexistent.

There’s lots of reasons

to build more prisons

when big money is to be made

on the backs of inmates

who make nothing.

Slavery was out,

now it’s in.