THEY TOOK HIM AWAY THIS MORNING 

By Nicole Richardson

You can find this poem and more in Nicole’s book Broken Silence: The Thoughts and Struggles of a Prison Wife

They took him away this morning

My – reason for breathing
The heartbeat in my chest
The one thing I believe in
My comfort and my rest
I said, they took him away this morning

Cuffs on the arms that held me tight
Shackles on the legs that tangled in mine
Chaining the arms that curled around me at night
Stealing the one that is mine
They took him away this morning

The air from my lungs
The blood from my veins
The man that I clung to
To keep me sane
They took him away this morning

And the room goes quiet
And my feelings die 
And I sit there silent
I can’t scream or cry
Because they took him away this morning

No saying goodbye
No final embrace
Just meeting his eye
Just watching his face
As they took him away this morning

Seeing his lips 
Form the words
I lose my grip
On the rest of the world
They took him away this morning

The last I love you
As he is free
The words he said
That he Mouthed to me
When they took him away this morning

A monster they claimed
Who only thinks of himself
A danger to society detained
to be thrown into a cell
After they took him away this morning

They brought up the past
That that man escaped
They lied and they lashed
They tried to make him break
Then they took him away this morning

I watch until he is out of sight
I watch him fade from view
How am I going to face the night
Alone in this empty room
Because they took him away this morning

Today I lost my heaven
And I saw the proof of hell
As my reason for living
Was carried to a jail
When They took him away this morning

Somehow I have to move forward
And refocus my world
He asked me to be the parent toward
His precious little girl
Because they took him away this morning

I have to look into those eyes
The ones she got from him
Decide to tell truth or lie
Of when “Daddy” comes home again
Because they took him away this morning

The ring on my hand
That he had just placed
Ties me to the man
They tried to erase
When they took him away this morning

But I will not bow
I will not break
I will find how
To fix their mistake
Of taking him away this morning

I will bring him home
I will make this right
I will bleed for my own
I will fight his fight
After they took him away this morning

This verdict is not set in stone
To be taken lying down
They took my king off of his throne
But now I straighten my crown
Because they took him away this morning

Cause stand by your man isn’t just a song
Not just a pretty little phrase
I know where that man belongs
Until my dying days
And it’s where he was this morning

As I laid there on his chest
And I listened to his heart
In my arms he found his rest
Then they broke it all apart
When they took him away this morning

Hell has no fury
Life has no scorn
No judge or jury
After I have sworn
To take him back this morning

The girl who walked into court has died
Her blood replaced with flame
She might have sobbed she might have cried
But she’ll still take his name
After they took him away this morning

If I have to beg or bleed
I’ll do the things I must
To have the only one I need
Home with me, just trust
I’ll take him away one morning

Because love is thicker than those chains
And stronger than that cell
And once he is in my arms again
There is no way in hell
To take him away again.