BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN
BY TRACY SCHLAPP
I broke a promise to myself again
I don't know why I am so vulnerable
They try to help but I won't let them in
I guess rock bottom's where I'm comfortableJELLY ROLL CREATURE
Look closely at the embroidery on country music’s superstar Jelly Roll’s (Jason DeFord) shirt and you read the golden barbed wire, intricately sewn monograms and the words “Beautifully Broken.” His face is etched in the tattoos of a man who has lived a complicated life and those symbols find their way into the very lyrics of his songs. When I look at the scars on our writer’s hands and arms, see the tattoos that weave across their skin, or read a piece that holds delicate ideas together, I picture a kinsugi pot — those Japanese pots that have been delicately repaired with golden lacquer. Remaking a broken pot requires an eye trained to see form from shards, a brain that can reorder those pieces, and the steady hand and patience to do the repair. A person concerned with elevating repair to artistry understands the beautifully broken.
A group of men at OSP worked together with their administrators to pull off the unthinkable in a very short measure of time — to bring this mega star to the yard for a Labor Day concert. This was an act full of hopeful optimism and the belief that bringing music to the yard would raise spirits and provide folks with a much-needed lift from the day-to-day. Jason DeFord (Jelly Roll) came as himself, not the 100-watt star, but an ordinary man among people. We worked with the OSP concert organizers to put together a prison-wide writing prompt to capture the experience of the participants.
LIFE EXPERIENCES WOVEN INTO ART BY STRESSLA LYNN JOHNSON
The music, the words from all the performers, actually transformed the space into a community gathering. It was truly remarkable. There is a life force in music and other art forms.
CREATURE BY TIMOTHY SHAW
Follow me and take my hand,
Be as open minded as you can.
As I take you on this journey through this foreign land,
Where you might see caged animals, but a man is still a man.
ANGELS RISING BY EMMANUEL TENORIO
If I had met Jelly Roll years ago, what would I have seen in his eyes? Would I have seen evil? Would I have seen a monster? I will never know, but what I do know is that he saw himself as a monster. He's lived in darkness and rather than be consumed by it, he flew out of hell.
THE QUESTION WAS POSED TO ME BY STEVE KLAUS
Jelly Roll stated he will be back here next year. That gives most inmates the opportunity to attain a higher incentive level and hopefully achieve a level three.
ORDINARY PEOPLE BY JACOB SOPHER
Even watching the concert from the TV in my cell, it helped me feel like a normal person. It was a compliment being called ordinary. Like many serving time, I often feel less than, due to my criminal record.
So repair and mend. This becomes the mantra, the habit. Finding the pieces with an eye to form, the brain to process, and a steady hand ready to apply gold. We ask our writers to consider transformation daily. That is the work of putting a life back together. As you move into this new season with the pieces that you hold. What will you transform? | TDS
READ THE PROMPT SUPPLIED TO THE FOLKS AT OSP.
