Routine

“Time, time, time…

Linear time, doing time, time-out time, quiet time, prayer time

Time for chow, rec, legal mail, 9 o’clock call outs… Calling me out, trying to start trouble, going to the bubble, put the officer on me. Am I ever gonna be free?

You’re gonna get a DR, they say, I protest, Don’t confine me. Don’t bind me. I’ll lose my gain time, and the old times, long times

They tell me, Do your time, don’t let your time do you. Is it time to go home yet? Cuz I know my kids are doing time with me. I have nothing but time, time on my hands, all the time. Its relative

They say an hour feels like a minute when you’re doing something you love, but a minute feels like an hour if you’re sitting on a hot stove or in the hot seat. Officer looking for the receipt for your watch. I need a timepiece of my own. The clock on the wall needs a new battery

How can I tell time? How many seconds are in a year? January 2nd, February 2nd. Don’t want to second-guess myself anymore. I will make this my time. Time for me, myself and I, and my time’s gonna fly. No time to sigh, no time to cry. Time and I."

-Barbara Kallfelz Bowns