National Poetry Month: A Poem by Innocence Project Exoneree Mark Denny
04.06.18 By Emma Zack
Mark Denny at the 2018 Innocence Network Conference in Memphis, TN. Photo by Lacy Atkins.
In honor of National Poetry Month, today we are featuring a poem titled Weathering the Storm, which Innocence Project exoneree Mark Denny wrote while he was incarcerated. Mark Denny was arrested at the age of 17 and freed at the age of 46. He served nearly 30 years for a rape and robbery that he did not commit.
Weathering the Storm
Life is really what you make of it…
It can be as beautiful as a
botanical garden in the spring time.
As adventurous as six flags
in the summer time.
As breezy and leafy
in the autumn’s fall
Or as bold and cold
When eventually winter calls.
Weathering the storm is a
phase of them all
For this reason our emotions,
like oceans, rise and fall.
Just pause and think,
remembering your goal.
By weathering the storm
you prove that your heart
is as solid as gold.
Read more about Mark Denny’s case here.
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May 30, 2018 at 7:32 pm
April 22, 2018 at 10:58 pm
By weathering the storm imposed upon you with such grace, you proved that your heart is as solid as gold. Thank you for your insightful words and rising above the injustice in the face of such daunting injustice.
The only way to end these injustices of innocent people being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for crimes the DA’s know they did not commit is to hold those same DA’s accountable. No more slaps on the wrist for suppressing evident or putting liars on the stand for the prosecution. Start giving those DA’s prison time for willfully and knowingly withholding evidence that would set the accused free. And by doing so it will make those DA’s think twice knowing that they are facing years (at least 5 years) in prison. Otherwise, the I don’t recall or we were mistaken excuses will continue.