My Brother's Teenage Life

by Anna Alvarez
(Watsonville, CA )

He was only 14 when he first went in,
Juvenile Hall, And now jail,
My Brother's stuck in the pin,
A young man who made a mistake,
All the guilt he was to take.

He was so young, already jumped in the hood,
This isn't like my brother,
He just misunderstood,
It was the wrong crowd, he thought he should follow,
But now I know that he's gone away,
I feel his pain, In his voice I can hear his sorrow.

At the age of 14,
He was sentenced to do 4 years,
It all brought tears, but it was one of his main fears,
The look on his face, he knew what he did was wrong,
Half of his teenage life was already gone.

Four years past, already 18,
Back home with the family, was the best place for him to be,
He came home with such happiness and pride,
But My brother's a gangster, in a gang,
He had no choice, he still had to ride.

It was not so long, just a couple of months went by,
He's back in, Damn this time he's in the pin,
His year went by, another court,
He's sentenced 42 years, without parole.