My Neighborhood
Dedicated to Ilyse Kusnetz
Rocks, bottles, sticks, and knives,
Straight razors, lye thrown in the face,
Human beings, and guns.
Prostitutes, pimps, ex-convicts, ex soldiers
Dope heads, gay men, rappers,
Grandmothers, Grandkids, and old black men,
Young hoodlums, and white priests.
Screaming children, yelling adults, gunfire,
Bottle fights, rock fights, knife fights, gunfights, and fist fights.
Old houses, burned down houses, and body bags,
I’m in the middle of it all before 21.
No normal thoughts, only homicidal and suicidal thoughts,
White therapist sends me away.
Mental hospitals, psychotic medication, sleeping pills,
And convulsive therapy treatment
Black America left me in pieces—
Now I’m civilized wearing a strait jacket and a padded room.
“Flop, flop, frizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.”
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Weep
Don’t weep for me,
It’s your America,
Don’t weep for my pain.
Don’t weep for the inner city youth,
It’s your America,
Don’t weep for their pain.
Don’t weep for the violence,
It’s your America,
Don’t weep for our pain.
Don’t weep for the truth,
It’s your America,
Don’t weep while the nuclear warheads explode.
Don’t weep when the missiles land in your backyard,
It’s your America,
Don’t weep when the mushroom cloud melts you down.
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Recognition
Recognize my brown skin,
Recognize my desires to be free.
I seek redemption from being demonized,
I seek redemption from being an outcast in my own country.
Do not baptize me with the fire hoses,
Do not brutalize me for seeking equality.
America keeps me hidden in her breast,
America keeps me alive with her promise of justice.
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My America
(Written November 5, 2008)
America has watched me bleed,
America has held me.
America has accepted me,
America loves me.
No longer do I have to hide my pride in America,
No longer do I have to hide my love for America.
No longer do I have to cry in the darkness of America’s shadows,
No longer am I ashamed of my country.
Oh, how the blistering past of yesterday can transfix us into shattered human beings. However, you found a pathway in the deepest emotions of your spirit. Now, because of your fight and struggle to become an accepted and loved individual, your life has changed and you found faith, love and happiness in your future. Your poems have shed light into this world of challenges for so many people.