Black Boy Flowers

I brought my mother a lily yesterday,
She placed it on the dining room table,
And I wept—
For those I had seen die in the streets.
The lily opened to reveal its seeds
And I wept—
For each seed, there was a black boy that would not bloom.
Ocean Breeze
For Lorraine
The water is calm today.
Seagulls cry out in the wind.
I celebrate my life,
And I forget the violence.
The waves run across my feet.
As I watch the sunset and I smile.
My mother holds my hand and I’m born again.

Death Warrant
(Black boys and street justice)
For Doc Jerry
The stiletto is taped to my arm.
The ladybug used to crawl where the knife rests,
And find her way down my arm across the blade
As the blood dripped.
Inner-city Dreams
For Vincenza
My dreams carry me to a foreign place
Where turtles nest in the sand.
Trees whistle in the freshness of the fall breeze.
Fragile is my soul that is free to live.
A Boy’s Love

It would be good to love myself
But I don’t know how.
I long for my mother.
She is dying of loneliness in jail—
So am I.
Spare Change

I asked God to spare me
From jail
From fear.
I would like to have a nickel
For my sorrows,
For my pain.
Spare me from life in the city.
Goodnight Kiss
For Donna
The candle burned on the table next to my bed;
I thought of God.
Mother covers me and kisses me on the forehead;
I cry as she leaves the room.
My door is left open;
I feel loved.