Poem: 'Prison' by Michael Naughton

'Prisoner of mind' by Michael Naughton

Prison

“I was in prison, but prison wasn’t inside me”, he said

“It’s all about your perspective; about how you make sense of things in your head”

He may have sounded plausible, but he didn’t convince me

Actions speak louder than words, and I could see that he would never be free

Although he had been released almost twenty years ago

He epitomised the discipline and punishment described in the book by Michel Foucault

His body was now beyond the reach of the prison’s control

But, his mind would be forever captive; the penal regime would always govern his soul

But, then, most of us are in a prison of which we are blissfully unaware

To see the world as it really is would, surely, reduce us to prayer

Instead, we embody the discourses that we consume from the cradle to the grave

And, we comply with the dictates of the powerful, never knowing the truth that so many of claim to crave

The escape from this predicament as far as I can tell

Is to turn off, opt out and refuse to be conditioned by their spell

They say that knowledge is power and that ignorance is bliss

But, what you don’t know can’t control you and what you never had you will never miss

By Michael Naughton

24 June 2025