In light of the courts ruling that the sharing and selling of my work from the Mackinac Bridge is protected under the first amendment I figured I would share one of my most personal pieces of writing, inscribed onto my cell wall on Christmas of last year as I thought on this moment in time.

Never let them steal your aura. To be a criminal in the eyes of the law and a disappointment in the eyes of society is often to look at the present state of the world and find “That’s just the way things are” is a dissatisfactory answer. It’s the persistence to press on and challenge like a child, understanding that waxing older does not mean ceasing to ask “why” and most certainly does not mean you must accept the world just as it is. The belief in the individual’s power to change the world must carry on at any expense.

Never let a cold cell turn your heart cold. Twenty-three hours in a cell is hard but you were still given the twenty fourth, make the most of it and be thankful. Never let the walls around you build up walls within. Be brave enough to love and be vulnerable in the face of adversity. Never let your cellmate go hungry. If the CO won’t give you paper-write on the walls, carrying on the spirit of the poets and artists before you.

Where there is a voice, there is hope and hope must continue at all costs so always express and express honestly. When you forget what the sun looks like, remember a greater light lives within; exist in incandescence and rain or shine, reign with shine. If you acted in pure intention, then you never need fear a jail cell for the universe is on your side. There comes a time where what is done in spirit supersedes legality so ride the river, war with the wind, dance with the devil and go beyond. Everything you need is on the other side.