Reggie Lewis currently resides on death row in Pennsylvania, and he has published a fascinating book of poetry, the fruit of years of contemplation.

He possesses what few of us do, the time to think and meditate. His poems reflect the range of our humanity, the joy and sorrow in life, the absurdity and serendipity, and, most of all, our ability to be spiritual beings.

Several poems touched me deeply. For Ammenah speaks movingly of a daughter he has never seen but loves with father's intensity. His joy in her existence shines through, as does his connection to her. His poem Where are you now? (for Aunt Marion) speaks eloquently of the feelings we have when a loved one is dying, and the deep sense of loss when it is over. The poem speaks of our need to know where our loved ones have gone; to have a sense of certainty when faced with the enormous pain of loss.

Reggie also writes of capital punishment and prisons. On the day the children marched was written to commemorate the children's crusade in 1997. The children marched against capital punishment, and Reggie writes:

On the day you marched
God smiled down on you -
Because you see an injustice and
You want to correct it.
You see racism and you want to cure it.
And you see the brutal inequality of
Capital punishment and you want to
Abolish it.

As he says in the poem Leaving Death Row. "One way or the other, I'm leaving death row." Reggie's body is behind bars, but his soul soars.

Check out the book...