The Rock

Island of the Pelicans

By: Charles Giuliano - Sep 22, 2017

The Rock

The Rock
Island of the Pelicans
Alcatraz
Blight on San Francisco Bay
Grim reminder
Brutal inhumanity
Stir crazy
Federal pen 1934 to 1963
Harbor cruise
Brisk breeze
Numbing water
Swift currents
Notorious inmates
Al Capone to Machine Gun Kelly
Boston mobster Whitey Bulger
Robert Franklin Stroud
AKA Birdman of Alcatraz
Worst of the worst
14 escape attempts
By 36 prisoners
Captured, killed or drowned
Maybe four made it
Never found
Terrible place
Cruel and unusual
At the end
60 guards and families
For 250 prisoners
Crumbling and costly
Feds opened Leavenworth
Not much better
Tough nut to crack
Native Americans
Reclaimed the island
19 months in 1969
Wounded Knee by the sea
Now tourist trap
Gape and gawk
Where gulls squawk
Chip off the old cell block
Film noir in vivid colors