Absence of Light is a project created in collaboration with incarcerated people at Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York. This is an account from Absence of Light Columnist Clifford Graham, who recently transferred to Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York. In this miniseries within Absence of Light, Graham describes the paradoxes he sees within the prison system.

When society hears or reads about what is going on inside or behind the lights in the prison system, some wonder what can be done to change things. Others turn a blind eye, accompanied by those who feel nothing should be done. For us in prison, we hear and see from the media the efforts being taken to expose and correct the injustices that have been occurring. But there is something missing.

In the world of geometry, we are taught about measurements of solids, surfaces, lines, points and angles. The mazes that have been set before us by those who oppose reform efforts have taken on different points and angles. Instead, let us turn away from the horizontal way of navigating and turn our attention to the vertical mazes that they have been formulating.

In my address to the prison population, to those who have found themselves entrapped in a never ending maze, floors made of treadmills, walls made of black mirrors. To those who don’t know what questions to ask and shake the foundations of those who would dare to answer them.

To those who don’t know what questions to ask, thereby missing the answer that stands before them. To those who have eyes that see injustices occur, but their voices are clamped down by fear of making their circumstances far worse. To those who have had to endure the overwhelming restrictions that prison officials imposed during the pandemic, so much so that some felt death was a better place to exist.

To those who feel they would never see society ever again because of the length of the sentence given by the courts from immature decisions made in their youth. To those who have lost countless loved ones to the violence in the streets, wishing they were there to forewarn them of the consequences. To those whose thoughts are so heavy that they have caused imbalances so out of sync that no expert can explain the cause or long-term effect. To those who have never felt the warmth that love has had to offer and became accustomed to the cold seasons of pain. To those who have kept hope alive and are near their return to a world that has evolved and transformed into a blueprint for those seeking a straighter path.

I would tell you what Paulo Coelho explained in Manual of the Warrior of the Light: “The warrior of the light is a believer. Because he believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure that his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because he is certain he can find love, love appears. Now and then, he is disappointed. Sometimes he gets hurt, then he hears people say: he is so ingenious. But the warrior knows that it is worth it. For every defeat he has two victories in his favor. All believers know this.”

Cliff Graham, # 15-B-2973

Syracuse, New York.

Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York.

I can be reached at JPay-Inmate Tablet Program via email for any opinions, comments or wise counsel.

Published on October 20, 2021 at 9:25 pm