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About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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ISSUE NO. 17

December 2025

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Poetry

Christmas Day in Prison

By

Joshua

Joshua was formerly incarcerated in a prison in VIC.

Freestocks via Unsplash

Christmas day without my family

Was such a terrible burden to bare

No Christmas tree, decorations, no presents

No laughter, no joy, no Christmas fare

No sounds of excited children

Running from their room

To see what’s under that special tree

Was a feeling of shattering gloom

My first Christmas without my family

A torrent of tears, roll down my face

A broken, soul-destroying feeling

That has taken me to a different place

I think of the joyful moments

We all shared on Christmas morn

Looks of delight on the children’s faces

As the ribbons and paper are torn

My heart lies empty and shattered

And my body trembles in pain

Emotions of complete desolation

Next year it will haunt me again

Christmas day without my family

Was such a terrible burden to bare

No Christmas tree, decorations, no presents

No laughter, no joy, no Christmas fare

No sounds of excited children

Running from their room

To see what’s under that special tree

Was a feeling of shattering gloom

My first Christmas without my family

A torrent of tears, roll down my face

A broken, soul-destroying feeling

That has taken me to a different place

I think of the joyful moments

We all shared on Christmas morn

Looks of delight on the children’s faces

As the ribbons and paper are torn

My heart lies empty and shattered

And my body trembles in pain

Emotions of complete desolation

Next year it will haunt me again

‘Love is Rebuilding My Life’

By Phillip

There’s irony, hypocrisy, fallacy, a vast ocean of distance to cross. The “saint”, the “sinner”, it’s lunacy, that the ignorant could save the lost.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 22

2 MIN READ

Methfairytale

By Karie

I’m not belle of the ball, not the very least, but we have something in common, I’m in love with a beast. But the beast is not a person but a drug that I call meth, I’ve been talking to myself for hours, I’m running out of breath.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 22

1 MIN READ

Nostalgia

By Dennis

Nostalgia is a gentle haze, a soft and fading, golden maze, where time itself begins to blur, and memory’s touch is sweet and pure.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 22

1 MIN READ

Art From Inside

By Lanie

Our team was blown away by this beautiful painting.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 21

1 MIN READ