These poems, brown with age, are written on what ever paper was available to Dr. Brown at the time. Some are written on the back of Philippine immigration documents. Some on the backs of letters from home. Some are even written on the back of prisoner medical records. Most of them are type written. Most have notes or revissions hand written on them. One poignant poem in particular he chose to include on the origanal hand written cover page:
"Come live with me in my prison cell,
where live the free who now sing so well,
some song forgotten with it's lovely bars,
with none to intrude but the friendly stars."

Capt Charles T. Brown was freed from Bilibid on Feb 4, 1945. He was taken to the 73rd field hospital on Leyte to begin the long recovery.

See the letters section for an acount of his arrival at Leyte by his long time friend and 73rd field hospital commander Dr Robert Stokes.


Prison Gate

Gate of a thousand sorrows,
Door to my lost tomorrows,
Tell me when will open now your ancient portal wide?
Gate, if I could only borrow
The words to paint the horror,
Of all the suffering now your iron bound portals hide.

Gate, will you give me token,
That someday may be broken,
These hated bolts that fasten me in stone where I abide?
Will time my chains dissever,
Or will I be damned forever,
Come ancient portal, to me this secret now confide.

I hear the hinges rasping,
To give me what I’m asking,
Or could that be the gasping now of devil who has died?
Gate, I hear you speaking,
And you say this eerie creaking,
Is but the ripping of the heart-strings tearing in my side!