I don’t want your big fancy cars
Or your modern washing machines
When the flowing rivers are just as good
And keep my clothes twice as clean
I don’t want a bank account
To hide away my loot
All the money I really need
I can hide in my boot
I don’t want to move mountains
Jut to gain a slap on the back
Along with all the worry it brings
That causes a heart attack
I don’t want status symbols
Or a badge of authority
As long as I know I’m an honest man
That’s all that matters to me
What I would like is to be a free man
To go just where I please
And hear the songs of the birds
The whisper of the breeze
HYPOCRISY
People saying words they don’t mean
Expressing emotions they don’t feel
They’re singing songs of brotherly love
But wishing they could kill
What a crazy world we live in
This whole world’s gone insane
War is no justification
Politicians won’t take the blame
The children we watch burning
They’re using napalm bombs
On Sundays they’re in churches
Singing gospel songs
All dressed in garbs of finest silk
Jewels set in purest gold
A hungry child stretches out its hand
To a heart it knows is cold.
JUDAS
When I was free and victorious
You loved and praised my name
But you were nowhere to be found
When the roar of the battle came
You watched me battle on alone
Without a shield or sword
You saw them whip and crucify me
And never said a word
Though guards and chains restrained me
I fought every inch of the way
You saw the sentence they gave me
Not a comforting word did you say
These arms that once held you
The warmth of loving and giving
You watched as they placed me in this tomb
Buried whilst still living
SHORT-TERM PRISONER
I watch you walk this cell block
And, young man, I feel your pain
I relate to you so easily
Because I once felt the same
But I hope you never see the real horrors
That I have seen in this cage
The total lack of humanity
That brutalise and outrage
You think you have a problem
But, my friend, ours are so small
Compared to those serving life
Never to see beyond the wall
So don’t let your pain cripple you
Open up your eyes and see
That you have no real problem
Because, one day at least, you’ll be free
THE BATTLE WITHIN MYSELF
I have fought many a strange battle
On many a foreign shore
Followed many strange philosophies
Entered many a strange door
Seen the faces of life’s monsters
The faces of lust and greed
Have seen the fantasies within this dream
That cater for most men’s needs
Yet still searching for the truth
The truth that might be a lie
Looking at the essence of life
And slowly seeing it die
Accumulating great pleasures
Trying to assess true wealth
Fighting the hardest battle of my life
The battle within myself
A WARRIOR KNOWS ALL THESE THINGS
No place to rest this weary soul
No soft warm feathered bed
No emotions to show in this cold war
Just battles that waited ahead
There are many ways to kill a man
A Judas kiss or a cold steel blade
A warrior knows all these things
But battles on, unafraid
The sword of love is the most ruthless tool
That mankind has ever used
For when that sword has been drawn
Then love itself is abused
And when the war has come to an end
We each tally up the score
And bind our wounds and walk away
Because love exists no more
BOARD OF VISITORS
They say they’re there to protect prisoners
Follow up prisoners’ complaints
As they take away your remission
This board of unholy Saints
They smile and listen to your plight
But to them you’re just lowlife
They couldn’t give a damn for your children
Even less for your struggling wife
They are an android type of people
Born of a brutal machine
They don’t care about abused prisoners
As long as the paperwork’s clean
They sit in judgement on kangaroo courts
They crucify everyone
Yet they tell you they protect our rights
But how can they – when we have none?
MY MOTHER
She’s always there when she’s needed
And that’s always been the case
She’s always a source of comfort
A warm and gentle face
She’s always understanding
Stands by me through thick and thin
She can never see the wrong in me
I am always free from sin
She has a heart of pure gold
She would give you her last shilling
If ever anybody needed help
She would be there, ever willing
She never makes a lot of fuss
She believes we should help one another
And I’m so proud to be able to say
This beautiful soul is my mother
CONTRARY TO APPEARANCE
You think of me as a chained man
Restrained by locks and bars
A man denied all privileges
Such as gazing at the stars
You think of me as a broken man
Locked securely in a cell
Being tormented by life’s demons
That dwell in this living hell
But never judge a book by its cover
Gaze deeply into my eyes
For they are the mirrors of my soul
And by them you will realise
That all of us are prisoners
You as well as me
And freedom is a state of mind
And it is I who am truly free
TIME
Time for loving
Time for tears
Weeks turn to months
Months turn to years
Time for reflections
Time to forget
The happiness and laughter
The sadness and regret
That youthful beauty
Now withered with age
Wrinkles of time
We count with rage
Time is a thief
A destroyer of the dream
As it ticks off the days
That is life’s theme
HE PEDDLES DREAMS
He peddles dreams
He peddles hope
He deals in substances
Labelled dope
He deals in illusions
Is the father of lies
He will take your money
Ignore your cries
He talks of philosophies
He thinks he’s hip
He sings of no possessions
Whils
t pocketing the blue chip
He will sell to the wealthy
He will sell to the bum
He will peddle to children
He really is scum
MY TRUTH IS MY POETRY
An armour of golden sunlight
To cover my naked skin
The power not created by men of war
But by the love I feel within
My legions are those visionary men
Who speak through the poem’s verse
Men who need no shield or sword
When their truth inflicts wounds far worse
For the poem is the voice of God
Spoken through the soul
And through the words of such poetry
He shows the picture as a whole
My kingdom is my vision
My jewels, flowers of the Earth
My truth is in my poetry
That truth gave my poetry birth
APPENDIX III
A MESSAGE FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Bobby’s story is the epitome of all we hope for with every one of the offenders we work with. We are particularly proud of the fact that many students continue their studies when they have served their term and are released into the community. Our work with the Prisoners’ Education Trust, which provides learning opportunities for offenders and awards grants to prisoners to fund distance learning modules, demonstrates the impact that access to educational opportunities can have.
Of the prisoners who are awarded grants, only around one quarter go on to re-offend, compared to an average re-offending rate of around 65 per cent for all prisoners. Considering the personal challenges facing these prisoners upon their release, this is a compelling and outstanding achievement.
Now we have about 1,700 students on more than 200 courses across all of the university’s faculties in approximately 150 prisons (covering all security categories) in the UK and Ireland.
During this entire forty-year history, the university has constantly refined and redeveloped the delivery of its Offender Learning Programme to meet the unique challenges and constraints posed by working with offenders in prison and secure units and ensure that our offering to them remains high quality, consistent, safe and accessible.
And not only does the university’s work in prisons demonstrate our commitment to widening participation wherever and however we can, but, led by our Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships, it also enables us to trial and innovate new methods of face-to-face support and virtual delivery that might potentially help a much wider pool of disadvantaged students. Nationally, we have an average of more than 600 offender learners each year undertaking an access module, and during any one presentation the Centre might have students in around 80 prisons. We aim to overcome the negative reinforcements of an offender’s surroundings to help make them aware of the possibility of a very different future, as we work with them to provide the means that could make this a reality.
I myself recently had the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony in a prison. As many people will know, an Open University degree ceremony is always an inspiring occasion, but this one was particularly moving. The pride in the room was even more palpable than usual – from his family, his friends and the prison staff present, including the governor – at the efforts of this man to put his previous life behind him and complete what is an enormous achievement in any circumstances.
Lucian J. Hudson, Director of Communications, 2014
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Charlie Richardson; Fred Dinenage; Kate Beal; Ronnie Richardson; The Open University; Mr Justice Keith; Mike Turner QC; Dexter Dias QC; Juliet Lyon; Colin Cook; Garden Court Chambers; Lord Ramsbotham; Judge John Samuels QC; the patrons of Unlock; Mark Leech; Dr Deborah Cheney; Nick Clegg MP; Edward Garnier MP; Joe, Sharon and Charlotte Baden; David and Ju Smith; Bilal Dunn; Trevor, Anita and William Cox; Queenie, Niki, Laurence Reddy and family; Paul and Carolyn Ferris; Paul Donnelly; Craig Knight; Barry Epstein; Tony Dunn; Chris Lloyd; Professor Shadd Maruna; Mark Oaten; Tony Bull; Andy; Micky and Jack Capper; Lloyd, Chantel, Elka, Yusal, Yukari, Mika and Ma and all those who worked with me on that long road to the OBE.
And special thanks to David Meikle whose flair and enthusiasm helped to tell the story of my life.
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