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photo credit: Corey Leopold

The following poem was penned one night in an Illinois prison, by an inmate. He wrote it as he listened to a number of killers crying in their cells. Now out of prison, he read the poem aloud at a recent press conference held by the Weston A. Price Foundation about the poor health of prisoners forced to eat a high soy diet.

Silence

A Poem by Thomas Salonis

Night, darkness, so excruciatingly painful.

Here listening to the silent cries of so many tormented souls.

Silence ruptures my gallantry.

It is during these hours I find living so unexplainably frightening, beyond comprehension. Time stands still.

Blinking back tears I continuously question my sanity, fearing not only the darkness but my thoughts.

At another time I will challenge resting, let alone sleep.

For now, lying awake, bombarded by the enemies within me, silence invades, intrudes upon the tranquility and security I only once truly felt in this life 52 years ago in the shelter of the womb.

Thomas Salonis Wants to Help Prisoners Obtain Soy Free Diet Photo Credit: Ann Marie Michaels

Thomas Salonis,  is a gifted writer and speaker, now working to establish a better life for himself. Currently homeless, he is living in a shelter. He has written numerous poems and is seeking a publisher. Please contact this blog for further information.

For more information about the prison soy lawsuit, visit the WAPF press room or search this blog for prison soy articles.

Here is Thomas on Video:

What you can do:

Write Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and express support for his newly ratified Farm Foods Jobs Act and ask him to use this new initiative to rid the Illinois prisons of the fake meat, wheat and cheese (made from soy protein isolate).

We also encourage individuals, church groups and prison ministries to start “Adopt a Prisoner” programs to send money to prison inmates in the interim, so they can buy food from the prison commissary if they are not thriving on their prison rations.

Here is the Illinois Governor’s contact info:

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

In place of email, please use this web form:

http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm