Janet Jackson is one of our long-time readers. She is currently incarcerated in Illinois. This poem was handwritten and mailed to us.
By Janet Jackson
When traveling down the road,
pulling my contact toad,
I think of getting a pet,
but haven’t decided yet.
I’ve had many a dog,
to run with when I jog,
or maybe I’ll get a fuzzy cat…
no walks. I’ll stay fat…
I thought of a bird,
but my heart wasn’t stirred.
Fish would fly out of the bowl,
every time I hit a pothole…
Gerbils, hamsters, maybe a rat…
That’s just not where my spirit is at.
So, I decided and bought an iguana,
just because I wanna!
Thank you, Janet! Your poem made us smile. Keep writing!
##RVT951
To whoever decided it was relevant to comment that Janet is “currently incarcerated in Illinois”: I do not believe it was necessary for you to include that in your introduction. I thought it was totally inconsiderate of you to put her personal dilemma on here. Why did you feel it was necessary?
Ditto
Ed, what, exactly, is wrong with saying she’s in prison?
It is just my opinion that maybe she isn’t looking to have her private life exposed in an article that has thousands reading it. I could be totally wrong Chuck but that is my opinion. I respect your opinions and hope you will reciprocate.
Ed, read the reply from Janet’s friend, Jeanette. She explains it very well. We wouldn’t have mentioned it unless we knew it was OK with Janet to do so. But thank you for your concern. Here’s link to another poem from Janet that we published in March. You can read the comments at the bottom of that poem, also. https://www.rvtravel.com/readers-speak-out-the-rv-life-a-poem-by-janet-jackson/ —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you Diane. I will read the poem as well.
Thanks, Ed. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you so much for sending that to me. I enjoyed it very much! Have a great week!
You’re welcome, Ed. Take care, and stay healthy. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I’m a good friend of Janet’s, and her dream is to be a full-time RVer when she gets out of prison. She doesn’t have access to the Internet, so I print and mail her copies of RV Travel. Janet’s good humor and optimism is not only good for her but for the others who are incarcerated. She raises everyone’s spirits, especially now when prison populations are so vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. The prison is currently on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, but those restrictions are especially hard on people who have such limited mobility in the first place and whose only physical contact with the outside world consists of visits from friends and relatives, which are currently prohibited.
I think it’s a good idea to mention that Janet is incarcerated because it reminds everyone that people in prison are human beings. Even though they’ve made mistakes in the past, they still have something to offer to society.