Skip to main content

If you want to know what they're really thinking....My husband said I couldn't have written it any better...

 


Between the Walls

In these cold, concrete walls, where shadows reign,
I fight a war within, battling the pain.
Drugs all around me, whispers in the air,
Temptation’s a beast, but I try to stay aware.

Your letters, your voice, they keep me from the edge,
In a world built to break me, you’re my only pledge.
I’m trying to stay sober, but it’s a constant fight,
When darkness surrounds me, you’re my guiding light.

It’s hard to stay true in a place so cold,
Where you have to be tough, you have to be bold.
The man I was outside, he’s fading fast,
I’m forced to wear this mask, a role I didn’t cast.

To survive in here, I’ve had to change my ways,
Think like a hardened soul, count down the days.
Institutionalized, I learn to play the game,
But deep down inside, I’m not the same.

I can’t live two lives, can’t be both men,
The one inside these walls, and the one I was back then.
It’s killing me slowly, piece by piece,
But your love is the only thing that brings me peace.

I dream of the outside, of who I used to be,
But the weight of this life is crushing me.
Yet your faith in me, it keeps me strong,
In this place where everything feels so wrong.

So I hold on to your love, like a lifeline tight,
In the darkest hours, in the dead of night.
For when the time comes, and these bars are no more,
I’ll find my way back to the man you adore.

But until that day, I’ll fight to stay true,
In this hell, your love is all that gets me through.
I’m living one life, the one I must to survive,
But with you in my heart, I’ll keep hope alive.

~ DeAnna Epperson

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fighting for Ryan: The Battle for His Life Inside Arizona’s Broken System

  I never thought I’d be writing this. Not like this. Not as the wife of the man I used to guard, used to protect. Not as someone on the outside screaming for help that should’ve been automatic on the inside. But here we are. I used to serve this system. Now I’m exposing it. I used to wear the uniform. Sixteen hours a day, six days a week, I walked those same yards. I protected inmates, respected them, loved them—because I knew most of them had never known compassion a day in their life. I saw their pain, their potential, their humanity. And now? Now I’m fighting like hell for the one who stole my heart behind those very walls. My husband is being failed. Deliberately. Repeatedly. Brutally. For days now— too many days —my husband has been locked down in complete isolation under what they call “observation.” No family contact. No personal belongings. No consistent monitoring. No treatment plan. What he’s getting instead? A blanket and a pill. They’re trying to medicate h...

The Truth About Prison Relationships

  by Ryan People love to say things like: “She’ll move on.” “It’s not real love.” “He’s just using her.” “She’s wasting her life.” Let me be clear: They don’t know a damn thing about prison relationships. They don’t know what it’s like to hold onto love through walls,   wire,  and years. They don’t know what it’s like to fall asleep wondering if she’s okay and wake up praying she hasn’t given up on you yet. They don’t know what it takes for a woman to stay committed to a man society already threw away. And they sure as hell don’t know what it’s like to love someone you can’t touch, can’t hold, can’t protect— but still fight for every single day. My relationship isn't built on physical closeness. It’s built on trust. On pain. On redemption. On showing up for each other through letters, through phone calls, through the worst days of our lives. And let me say this loud and clear: She didn’t wait on me. She stood up for me. When I couldn’t speak, she spoke. When I couldn’t be...

Another FBOP Failure: Tammy's Story — When “Funding” Becomes a Death Sentence

  Here we go again. Another woman, another broken promise behind razor wire. Another excuse that starts with “funding” and ends with neglect. Tammy’s story is not new. It’s not unique. And that’s the biggest tragedy of all. Because her life—and her vision—matter. And so does every other person sitting in a Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) facility, hoping for even the most basic human care. Recently, Tammy reached out to share what’s been going on at her facility, and I think it speaks for itself: "Recently I wrote about how the BOP seems to be broke. They took away several items at food service due to funding—like the salad bar (which, by the way, was just plain lettuce mix and generic dressing), they’ve limited eggs (maybe understandable with the bird flu), and removed extra items like beans and rice. What I didn’t mention, but probably should have, is that my prison doesn’t even repurpose leftovers. They literally throw away pounds and pounds of food daily from our kitche...