In for Two, Out for Life

It was only two hours, but it felt like forever
I was so scared in that cell, cried my eyes dry
There was only a bed and a toilet
That's the who and the where, and now for the why

I saw the look in my mom's eyes
When she looked at that dress
She really wanted it, that much I knew
But she could not have it...unless

You see, we were a poor family, seven kids
On welfare, food stamps, and all
Living out in the projects
I was just a kid, who liked to play ball

I decided to make my mom happy
So I tucked the dress under my shirt
But I did not get very far
'Cause the store cop was very alert!

He took me by the hand
Around the corner to the local pen
Put me in a cell, with the bed and the toilet
I had stolen before, but never again

Those two hours in that cell changed my life
They caused me to think, to promise myself
That I would do more than play ball
I would instead reach for a book on the shelf