I wear a dead chef’s boots
to preach in prison.
Black Johnny Cash jeans
because cliche`s don’t clash
with the dress code.
I speak no Spanish, recognize
no tattoos, never slept behind bars.
I’m welcome because I show up,
shake hands, pray and come back.
Familiar equals family
when everything is strained and chained.
The insiders know my heart is locked with theirs,
even driving home.
Will Schmit is a volunteer outreach prison minister for Lifehouse Church in McKinleyville Ca. He is the author of Head Lines A Sixty Day Guide to Personal Psalmistry and Jesus Inside A Prison Minister's Memoir and Training Manual both available at Amazon Books and www.schmitbooks.com. The website also includes poetry, ministry updates, and music downloads from Bring To Glory a CD of spoken word with coffee house jazz.
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