Age-old addiction
turning
reasonable suspicion
into
critical condition
then flatlines
you see
this is
the only
(trinity)
we've come
to know
here
Rorschach
Amadou had a wallet
Trayvon had Skittles
Black boy had a BB gun
Might as well had a missile
The Draggers
WE
pick at each other's reputations
like cotton formerly situated
between index and thumb
my knees are bruised in whole
from nights praying
that some graceful day
WE
prove William wrong.
Burdens greater than me
Be enough to have your back broken in
two by promises that never left the plaque
(of a friend's teeth)
Be enough to have the world you
knew so well turn to inkblot
(in 4 days time)
Be enough to have darkness engulf
your aspirations swallowing them whole
(before reaching the pillow)
Be enough to accept sorrows frigid dance
on your throat while it muzzles
(screams for God's mercy)
Be enough to endure
because you
always
have
had
to
(be)
Berries, Moons, & Water
She told me
She is the
"Dark(est)
girl
in
the
school"
Darling,
have we ever
asked planets
to apologize?
Poverty is Violence
Pretty soon empty spoons cut gums
like razor blades across faces in penitentiaries
the summer of 98 took lives
off of family porches
&
out of family portraits
it also took the Jordan's off of Jermaine's feet
along with his breath
last words were "don't scuff em"
&
when people don't eat
They eat each other bone and all
I AM, staring at an empty closet
waiting for the bones to fall
&
because an empty stomach
gets filled with lucifer
we been keeping the door locked
everyday this June
the wavy apparitions rising from concrete
reminded us, summer was in
&
the heat was on
Flawed for Eternity
to
appreciate
me
you have to understand
just as,
the flute has many holes
through which
the musician blows
should the
wounds seal to close
no song could be played
Daughter
she asked me,
father, what. am. I. made. of ?
have you forgotten?
why you are
an atomic bomb
wrapped in rose petals
the last gasp of a songstress
a tectonic plate of felicity
and for these reasons
you must always have
a volcano
in your saliva
grenades between
your lips
The Wealth of This Nation
trickle down economics
fickle stories to tell
about a capitalist flood
over community wells
the robber baron's heaven
is a commoner's hell
mixed messages say the mind
is where the poverty dwells
trust a dotted line
is where inequity swells
Demons
I stopped
equating
progress
with
being exhausted.
I stopped
equating
success
with
being exalted.
Standardized Tests
God teaches
blood is ink
life is paper
experience is notes
pain is proofreading
editing is second chances
death is final drafting
Puzzles
Be careful
They'll have
Your oppression
Tasting Like Cheetos
You'll be
Licking Fingers
Digesting death
Our Glass
Mortal
atmospheres
where
energy is finite
waste = waste
evermy
a banking transaction
with our
mind, body, & SOUL
what's your balance?
balanced?
balance?
Social Darwinism
The REAPer's sickle
is commerce and gain|
the DARKer the profit
the SWEETer the cane|
Vernacular regrets
every.
poem.
I.
wrote.
in the colonizer's tongue.
was.
a.
suicide note.
to.
my.
ancestors.
Riots
Art & Politics
are
the bottom
and top
lips
of
the oppressed
(Re)pressed
and aborted
honor
their rage
For the tongue
may very well be
their only sword
Ecology
I watched a baby's soul pass through the concrete
mothers bruise knees beggin fo da Lord's redemption
aunties walin at a sky nobody gonna drop from
don't them balloons deflate too soon?
ain't nobody comin to save us
Mr. Ghetto ain't you tired?
Mr. Ghetto don't cha take no breaks?
Mr. Ghetto don't cha have no leisure?
I watched a man-child dance in a purgatory
fathers beat walls yearnin for second chances
uncles tip 40oz bottles of heroine in mother earth
don't teddy bears make you nauseous?
ain't nobody comin to save us
Mr. Ghetto you generations turnin in them graves?
Mr. Ghetto ain't it prayer you said would deliva me?
Mr. Ghetto who built you?
Extroverted Introvert
be. patient. with.
the face.
new. acquaintances.
are. showing. you.
their. apprehension.
to. express love.
the hidden truth.
may only. be seen if.
they. turn around.
and. show you.
the knives.
friends. family. and. foes.
have lodged.
between.
their shoulder blades.
Affirmations
I. you are more than acute suffering & transgenerational trauma
II. you are more than dichotomies of peril & unattainable perfection
III. you are more than regrets that make teeth clench, grind & chip away at esteem
IV. you are more than surreptitious social anxiety & gatherings (everyone is going to be at)
V. You are every atom of the universe happening at once
VI. And sunrise is earth's way of saying "thank you"---- for being
Curry
you are dark matter
inexplicably able
to split spheres
with spheres
to remake men
as boys
catapulting magic
in rims silently
composite leather
underestimation
under-appraisal
and under-appreciation
have made you poetry
swish