🚀 go-pugleaf

Below is an installment of Dr. Sami Al-Arian's poetry. The 
following five poems in particular deal with the horrendous 
conditions of his detention in Coleman Federal Penitentiary, where he 
and his co-defendant Sameeh Hammoudeh are the only pre-trial 
detainees. These conditions amount to psychological torture, and 
Amnesty International has called them "gratuitously punitive." For
more information on the conditions please visit:
http://www.freesamialarian.com/conditions.htm

*~*~*~*

6) Livin' in the SHU*
7) Strip-search
8) Shakedown
9) A Visit by the Warden
10) A Telephone Call

6. Livin' in the SHU*

*SHU: Special Housing Unit

Get used to it
You're livin' in the SHU

Let's establish some rules
Until you get your next review

In solitary round the clock
Enjoy the shielded view

Your hands cuffed behind you
They may turn black and blue

Whether sick or not
Forget seeing the doc
For a stroke or the flu

You'll be with the violent
The vulgar and insane
So you'd better get a clue

You'll be strip searched naked
Every time you leave your cell
Just makin' sure you knew

Better check your hearing
The dissonance is deafening
Fire alarms are always on
It's like being in a zoo

There'll be no religious observation
For your congregation
Whether Muslim, Christian, or Jew

You may get one hour
Of recreation every day
Enjoy it while you may
Because that's discretionary too

Visits have their rules
See family through the glass
But friends can never pass
Whether old or new

One 15-minute call per month
Use it wisely 
Or lose it promptly
And wait forever in the queue

And by the way
No library today
Even if you pay 
The charges that are due

You'll have no hot water, no tea, or soup, 
No pens, or pads, or watch to tell the time
Though we do not know your crime 
Here your rights are through

It's all about misbehavior 
And enforcing strict control
Take heed of the wrath of prison patrol 
If you get our cue

You have not been convicted
But that's none of our concern
Here's a place you've earned
Lady Liberty is ours to screw

This is about security, you bastard
And if you don't like it
Call your lawyer and your accountant
We dare you to sue

*~*~*~*

7. Strip-search

His body was built
His head was bald

His heart was dead
His face was cold

His eyes were fierce
Moustache was thick

He lifted his finger
I was his pick

Take off your jumper
And shirt and boxers

But I've only been to the library
Have not seen or met anybody

Strip, you're going to strip
And don't you dare move your lip

Take off your jumper
And shirt and boxers

Open your mouth 
Show me your tongue

Give me a cough
Deep from your lung

Hold your buttocks
And bend over

Turn around
Lift it up
And stay sober

The routine is to humiliate
To scar and intimidate

His "search" took an eternity
In the name of security
They strip you of your dignity

*~*~*~*

8. Shakedown

They came Monday morning 
In front of my door
Five CO's* and one LT** 
At six-foot and four

Come up shut up, 
Cough up they said
Turn around back up 
Hold down your head

They joked and laughed 
It's time for shakedown
Control. Destroy. 
And don't you dare frown

Contraband contraband 
He yelled from the side
My heart just sank 
He's found my hide

Extra blanket, extra sheet, 
Boxers, he's thrown
Plastic spoon, peanut butter, 
And a picture I'd drawn

My heart was beating 
Faster than before
If he finds it, my life
Ain't the same anymore

Seconds and minutes 
Were passing like years
Frustrated, worried, 
And crying without tears

Undaunted, they left 
The cell upside down
Startled, it looked 
Like a tornado hit town

But I calmed and laughed 
And thanked the Lord
My pencil is safe
And mightier than the sword

*CO: Correctional Officer 
**LT: Lieutenant

*~*~*~*

9. A Visit by the Warden

He visits the SHU*
Every now and then
Like an emperor
In his procession
Or a lion observing
The prey in his den

You know he's arrived
When you hear the commotion
A noisy entourage 
Like a steamship in the ocean

His steely eyes penetrate
Your tiny window
So you know he's not a friend
But rather a foe

Don't be fooled with
His half smile
It's the arrogance of
The Pharaoh on the Nile

It doesn't matter
What you ask
He'll always be
On the attack

And it doesn't matter
What you say
His ready answer
Will be nay

It's perhaps just
His ego trip
But thank God, at least
We don't have to strip

*SHU: Special Housing Unit

*~*~*~*

10. A Telephone Call

A fat guy with a big belly
And an accent that's silly

He loves to manipulate
And control and intimidate

One telephone call, please
To my son, who's overseas

He penetrated me with a stare
Asking "why?" with a glare

He's thirteen and feeling ill
And of course I'd pay the bill

I'd have to get permission
From the Warden 
Or the commission
Maybe Washington, 
That's my mission

Give me just three days
I'll see what he says

He came back in a week
With a half smile, tongue in cheek

Your request has been denied
Because security is implied 

Meanwhile my son is waiting patiently
For the fat guy with a big belly

*~*~*~*

Please send feedback to:

Dr. Sami Al-Arian (#40939-018)
Coleman Federal Complex-USP
P.O. Box 1033
Coleman, Florida 33521