“Crime & Punishment” by Ruperto Lindsay

Ruperto Lindsay is a published poet who has overcome the many burdens of life behind the wall. Here are a few of his prolific repertoire of poems. For more information on how to contact the poet, please email info@sohojournal.com or write to him directly:

Ruperto Lindsay
P.O. Box 480
Gouverneur, NY 13642

. . . Time (2011)
I do not know
If I have the time
To convey the meaning
Of every beat of my heart
The whisper of my soul
Nor the fire of my spirit

It is like an internal implosion
Consuming me . . .
From inside – out
Threatening my very existence
For this love is alive
Throbbing to my every breath

As I walk . . .
She strolls at my side
Never having to look behind
She is the sparkle in my eyes
The music in my swagger
The harmony in my life

There is a road
With no ending in sight
Yet, in the beginning . . .
There was Robyn and I
On a passionate night
We gave you life

Christiane
I cannot envision you face
I cannot bask
In the warmth of your smile
I cannot feel
The touch of your baby hands

Sadly . . .
I missed your first steps
You cried . . .
And I was not there
I cried . . .
Because you were not there

I don’t understand
The reason they kept us apart
But even as time goes by
You shall always
Be in my heart

I’ve suffered silently
As if a dagger
Has impaled my heart
The anguish
Of days gone by

In not knowing . . .
Your beautiful face
Your charming smile
The squeeze
Of your baby hands
Nor seeing your first steps

I was not there to comfort you
When you wailed in the nights
And hold you close to my heart
So that you may fall asleep
To the rhythm of my heart’s beat

Christiane . . .
Part of my soul got lost
Traveling that road
Twists and turns
I endured
In this painful maze
Of so many roads

Hoping, wishing, and praying
That I will find you
On these roads I traveled
For without you
In my tears I will drown