about the author
Garrett Phelan is the author of the poetry book Outlaw Odes (Antrim House Books, 2015) and micro-chapbooks Unfixed Marks and Standing where I
am (Origami Poetry Project, 2014 and 2016). His poems have appeared in a variety of publications including Potomac Review, Word Riot, Off the Coast, Ekphrastic Review, and Leaping Clear. He presently teaches poetry in a Connecticut maximum security prison. He is a Pushcart Prize
nominee.
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One Poem
Garrett Phelan
Maximum Security
With each brutal second
I push a prison into existence,
carve tattoos of panthers
onto my soul,
and transform anger
into fatherhood; a criminal activity.
I take a speedball—
push my daughter on her swing.
“Push Papa, push,” she cries.
So I push hard. I push so hard,
I push myself right out of existence.