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Poem: Genuine Freedom by Keith Soanes

April 8, 2026 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Keith Soanes, Suwannee Correctional Institution

All of Us or None,
we want freedom,
i.e., the power to determine
the destiny of our own community;
and we are not talking for fun.
Some say “vote,” some say “run”
to keep the plutocracy in place,
blocking everything, now, even the sun.
Just like on the plantation,
trying to catch up to massers,
who got 400-year headstarts,
in a race, so racist,
they keep screaming, “lost cause,”
why we still fighting for freedom,
if we already won?

Yeah we are free,
free to remain within the walls
instilled in our minds
via CIPWS* miseducation
from Kindergarten, from age on.
Free to assimilate, genuflect, kow tow,
grovel and truckle,
while keeping the CIPWS,
economic substructure and superstructure
oppression against ourselves, going on and on.
At what point are we going to stand up,
and say, “we are done!!!”
Assimilating in a parasitic culture
and society, calling it freedom,
more like free-dumb.

*CIPWS: Capitalist Imperialist
Patriarchal White Supremacist

Filed Under: Poetry Tagged With: Inside, Poetry

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About AOUON Newspaper

Our All of Us or None Newspaper serves to link those of us who have been locked up, those who are locked up, as well as our families and allies in this struggle.

We want to ensure that the voices of our people inside are heard and that inside artists are recognized for their contributions to this movement.

Your stories matter!

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OUR MISSION

Our All of Us or None Newspaper serves to link those of us who have been locked up, those who are locked up, as well as our families and allies in this struggle.

We want to ensure that the voices of our people inside are heard and that inside artists are recognized for their contributions to this movement.

Your stories matter!

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