I wrote this poem in May 2008, and recently a man in Berlin made it into a song, which you can find at Liquid Sounds.
Someone Else’s Crime
I will grow tomatoes
When you’ve set me free.
I will live at home in peace
Where all will let me be.
I will wake up cheerful
In the morning to the sun.
I will feel at peace at last,
Once my Freedom’s won.
I have been imprisoned here
For someone else’s crime.
I have lived my life in fear,
And I have done my time.
All I want, is to feel safe -
Relaxed and calm and free.
I have been good, to fellow men.
Why aren’t they good to me?
I try to keep my head up high,
Imagining the day
When I will be allowed to fly,
When I will go away,
And wrap myself in someone’s arms
Who knows me as I am.
I try to think about that day,
As hard as try I can …
I will wake up smiling,
In the morning sun.
I will kiss the one I love, and
Once this battle’s done …
I will grow tomatoes in
My garden in the grass,
And tie my hair behind my head …
And when this storm has passed,
I will sit up late at night
With cats and cups of tea,
I will live no more in fright
Once I have been set free.
I only want this misery
And fear and pain to end.
I only want a life at peace
Surrounded by my friends.
But that will be another day.
Today I must remain
Within the madness of this place
In fear, and hope, and pain.
But always, I hold up my head,
Imagining the day
When I will be allowed to go,
When I will fly away …
Not now. It isn’t over yet
I must sit out my time,
As I have done, for all these years,
For someone else’s crime.
- by Anna Vera Williams
April 29, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I want to HEAR it!
May 1, 2009 at 2:12 am
Then click the link.
May 27, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I tried to listen to it and the page wouldn’t load!
May 27, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Strange – first time I have heard of it. Maybe try back again later? If it still doesn’t work we can contact the webmaster.
May 28, 2009 at 9:33 am
Hi Dustin
May just try to download the song with a right click on the link (save target to …) and use your favorite music program to listen to it.
November 3, 2009 at 10:18 am
Hey Anna
I’m doing a paper for my english class about a human rights poem and decided to pick your poem. I am however having trouble explaining it in my own words. I was wondering if you can help me explain more about what it means??
Thanks
November 3, 2009 at 10:20 am
The reason I’m asking for your help is because i dont like being wrong and i want to be sure I have the right idea about what it means.
November 3, 2009 at 10:26 am
Hi, I am happy that you are using my poem. It is basically about a person who has been in prison for a long time for a crime he did not commit, is having a rough time of it, and is looking forward to being released and returning to his home and family. Is that what you understood?
November 3, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Thanks so much and yes that was what I understood.
March 11, 2010 at 7:13 am
please give me a short summary of this poem to my e-mail id.i wannt it soon.