"The Convict" and "16 On Death Row" by 2Pac
(Critique of the prison system)
"The Convict"
The glory of evening was spread through the west; —On the slope of a mountain I stood; While the joy that precedes the calm season of rest Rang loud through the meadow and wood. "And must we then part from a dwelling so fair?" In the pain of my spirit I said, And with a deep sadness I turned, to repair To the cell where the convict is laid. The thick-ribbed walls that o'ershadow the gate Resound; and the dungeons unfold: I pause; and at length, through the glimmering grate, That outcast of pity behold. His black matted head on his shoulder is bent, And deep is the sigh of his breath, And with stedfast dejection his eyes are intent On the fetters that link him to death. 'Tis sorrow enough on that visage to gaze. That body dismiss'd from his care; Yet my fancy has pierced to his heart, and pourtrays More terrible images there. His bones are consumed, and his life-blood is dried, With wishes the past to undo; And his crime, through the pains that o'erwhelm him, descried, Still blackens and grows on his view. When from the dark synod, or blood-reeking field, To his chamber the monarch is led, All soothers of sense their soft virtue shall yield, And quietness pillow his head. But if grief, self-consumed, in oblivion would doze, And conscience her tortures appease, 'Mid tumult and uproar this man must repose; In the comfortless vault of disease. When his fetters at night have so press'd on his limbs, That the weight can no longer be borne, If, while a half-slumber his memory bedims, The wretch on his pallet should turn, While the jail-mastiff howls at the dull clanking chain, From the roots of his hair there shall start A thousand sharp punctures of cold-sweating pain, And terror shall leap at his heart. But now he half-raises his deep-sunken eye, And the motion unsettles a tear; The silence of sorrow it seems to supply, And asks of me why I am here. "Poor victim! no idle intruder has stood "With o'erweening complacence our state to compare, "But one, whose first wish is the wish to be good, "Is come as a brother thy sorrows to share. "At thy name though compassion her nature resign, "Though in virtue's proud mouth thy report be a stain, "My care, if the arm of the mighty were mine, "Would plant thee where yet thou might'st blossom again." |
"16 On Death Row"
Death Row That's where motherfuckers is endin up Dear mama, I'm caught up in this sickness I robbed my adversaries, but slipped and left a witness Wonder if they'll catch me, or will this nigga snitch Should I shoot his bitch, or make the nigga rich? Don't wanna commit murder, but damn they got me trapped Hawkin while I'm walkin, and talkin behind my back I'm kind of schizophrenic, I'm in this shit to win it Cause life's a Wheel of, Fortune here's my chance to spin it Got no time for cops, who trip and try to catch me Too fuckin trigger happy, to let them suckers snatch me Niggaz gettin jealous (jealous) tryin to find my stash Whip out the nine, now I'ma dive and pump your ass Peter picked a pepper, but I can pick a punk Snatched him like a bitch, and threw him in the trunk The punk thought I was bluffin, but swear I'm nothin nice Before I take your life, first wrestle with these, mics I listen to him scream, Tray Deee went insane I guess the little, mites had finally found his brain New Rovers pull me over, I'm sentenced to the pen Remember that little, bird, he snitched and told a, friend It's trouble on my mind, I'm with the old timers And fuck five-oh, blaow blaow.. turn em into forty-niners [Tupac sings] Bye bye, I was never meant to live Can't be positive, when the ghetto's where you live Bye bye, I was never meant to be Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets Bye bye, and I got no place to go... Where they find me? 16 on Death Row Dear mama, these cops don't understand me I turned to a life of crime, cause I came from a broken family My uncle used to touch me, I never told you that Scared what you might do, I couldn't hold you back I kept it deep inside, I done let it fuel my anger I'm down for all my homies, no mercy for a stranger The brother in my cell, is 16 as well It's hard to adapt, when you're black and you're trapped in a livin Hell I shouldn'ta let him catch me Instead of livin sad in jail I coulda died free and happy And my cellmate's raped on the norm And passed around the dorm, you can hear his asshole gettin torn They made me an animal Can't sleep, instead of countin sheep, niggaz countin cannibals And that's how it is in the pen Turn old and cold, and your soul is your best friend My mama prayed for me Tell the Lord to make way for me, prepare any day for me (why?) Cause when they come for me they find a struggler To the death I take the breath from your jugular The trick is to never lose hope I found my buddy hangin dead from a rope, 16 on Death Row [Tupac sings] Bye bye, I was never meant to live Can't be positive, when the ghetto's where you live Bye bye, I was never meant to be Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets Bye bye, and I got no place to go... Where you find me? 16 on Death Row Dear mama, they sentenced me to death Today's my final day, I'm countin every breath I'm bitter cause I'm dyin, so much I haven't seen I know you never dreamed, your baby would be dead at 16 I got beef with a sick society that doesn't give a shit And they too quick to say goodbye to me They tell me the preacher's there for me He's a crook with a book, that motherfucker never cared for me He's only here to be sure I don't drop a dime to God bout the crimes he's commitin on the poor, and how can these people judge me? They ain't my peers and in all these years, they ain't never love me I never got to be a man, must be part of some big plan to keep a nigga in the state pen And to my homies out buryin motherfuckers Steer clear of these Aryan motherfuckers Cause once they got you locked up They got you trapped, you're better off gettin shot up I'm convinced self-defense is the way Please, stay strapped, pack a gat every day I wish I woulda known while I was out there Now I'm straight headin for the chair [Tupac sings] Bye bye, I was never meant to live Can't be positive, when the ghetto's where we live Bye bye, I was never meant to be Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets Bye bye, and I got no place to go... Where you find me? 16 on Death Row 16 on Death Row It's to all my partners in the penitentiaries 16 on Death Row |
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The Parallels:
In the poem "The Convict," the narrator is observing a person in prison that is crumbling due to the environment. Instead of being set in nature, and experiencing the joy of that like in many of the other poems in the collection, the prisoner can't flourish in the harsh environment. In "16 on Death Row," a similar picture is given to us, although it's from a first person perspective. The prisoner speaks of their regrets and how they wished to have seen more as they're only 16 years old. Ultimately the idea of withering in prison comes out in a very literal way, as the speaker is executed on death row.
In the poem "The Convict," the narrator is observing a person in prison that is crumbling due to the environment. Instead of being set in nature, and experiencing the joy of that like in many of the other poems in the collection, the prisoner can't flourish in the harsh environment. In "16 on Death Row," a similar picture is given to us, although it's from a first person perspective. The prisoner speaks of their regrets and how they wished to have seen more as they're only 16 years old. Ultimately the idea of withering in prison comes out in a very literal way, as the speaker is executed on death row.