Chains Release Me
by Carolyn Smithers (1978)

Time passes by me
While lying within this cell.
They shackled my mind in bondage
Changes we go through in jail
I think about the future
My debates of the past
Tears filled with joy and laughter
My soul filled with
Unhappiness.

I meditate upon
My two daughters whom I left at home
The smiles that they carried
Tears that they shed
For they knew mommy was near to love
And understand
The way that they cuddled next to my side
Hanging tight to me like we can
Survive
They threw time before me
On that auction block
Took me from my babies
Without a second thought.

While locked within these bars
Of confusion and shame
Chains release me, or
I’ll never be the same
While walking here in darkness
With my emotions in the air
My soul is searching
My mind is in despair.
I’m pacing slow at the song of a lullaby
And my babies are riding gently on my
mind.
Chains release me

Carolyn Smithers is a 20 year old woman, who recently served time at Bedford Hills. She is the mother of two daughters placed in foster homes. The horrible medical conditions at Bedford aggravated her condition of epilepsy and her resistance to the authorities made her the target of several physical attacks by the guards. The combination of these two factors caused the prison to transfer her to Marcy State, an institution for the criminally insane in upstate New York.