Poem 2 The Wait

The Wait

Eyes blackened underneath

Poisoned with deceit

Hell on earth, emits heat

defeat

The wait time, they’ve been waiting in line

All morning, souls in mourning

Shoes worn

Foot bottoms blackened

Common sense lacking

A flick of the hair

Despair

Too deaf to hear

Near

Black Rapunzel

Arrogance should crumble

Heels should stumble

Comfortability with asking, waiting

Hand-outs, can’t do without

Entitlement mentality

Leaves them constantly unfulfilled

Begging, Pleading

Their own lives they aren’t leading

Accustomed to the bare minimum

Desensitized, unphased

Empty fridges, absent dreams

Reliance hand in hand with Defiance

Everything isn’t always as it seems

Obesity, bellies protruding

Thread bursting at the seams

Newborn’s screams

Living beyond their means

But unlike them I have dreams

Across from me a singing child

Imagination running wild

Innocent & pure without corruption, not demure

Abuse, a form of overconsumption

Protests invalid, unwelcome

Voices muffled

Willpower crumbled

Knees buckling, dependency

Victimized, contribution to their own demise

White clouds like cotton candy passes by

As darkness fills the sky

From your hands, they start to pry

Lengthy applications, hundreds, thousands

Seemingly fate,

Realizations come too late,

Slow paced,

Potential disabled, wearing a brace

Hour glass once filled with sand, now empty

Moochers not very friendly

Money they shouldn’t be spending

Soon their privilege shall be ending

Enslavement

Servants to “your” Pale Faced Lord

System we endure

Put in place long before

Your existence

Absent male, single mother

Equals qualifications

Eligibility

Absent-minded

Hands of the clock winded

Betrayal of your own brother, even each other

All clawing at a piece

Of this decaying pie

Obey, Abide

The real wealth they hide

Decision makers looked at as Gods

Accepted, denied

Called in whenever

At this place, you’ll be waiting forever

At this rate, sooner than never

Life in the bridge pt. 2 w revisions

Life in “The Bridge” Pt.2

Formerly suburban my world now urban

Tranquility replaced with instability

Foreign territory

Why me?

They say from this place stems greats

Nas, Prodigy, just to name some

Those are the few that escaped

Turned cannots into cans

Begging to differ

Challenged low-expectations

Determined for something greater

Innovators, Free-Thinkers, Intellectuals

They say we lack ambition

Transition, Change were on a mission

Fear fueled by ignorance

Maturity helped it lessen it is now altered

For I am now forced to dwell in my former enemy’s home

I am now well-informed

Fallen soldiers now non-existent

Fireworks from flaming steel

Real, projected images playing from a reel

Grim-reaper comes to steal

Big reveal

Crush, roll, puff just to deal,

Numb to not feel

Out of touch, reality

Yet in my world everyone is proud of me

Cause there’s more to what you see

But after a while the façade starts to peel

Faces begin to reveal vacancy behind eyes

Sunken in to their skulls from the constant cries and wonder whys

Novacane numbs the pain

Tricks the brain

Redirect, common sense

Confuse, Abuse and Use

Enable, Justify, Condone

Living in a Quarantined Zone

Why?

Six-story nightmare, towers composed of bricks

Deteriorating dreams

Police crime scenes

Caution tape traps like spider’s webs

Deafening sirens

Red, white and blue reflections

NYPD Presence allegedly our presents

Labeled, recognized as a collective never individuals

Problematic

Fight to survive

So rules and laws they don’t abide, by

Drugs they hide

Police they don’t confide, in

Petrified so I’m hid-ing

Tensions constantly rising

Dividing

Seemingly flawed by design

Lack of motivation leaves them further behind

Shattered dreams unaware of their potential

For their comfortable

Oppression some say by their own doing

Stifled, suffocated, hope deflated

Putrid stench of wasted talent

Tennis shoes sparling, dazzling

Yet dwelling lacking luster

Cemented together, a cluster

Unable to prioritize

Ages increase as mentality stay the same

Afraid to step out of their lane

Adapted to their surroundings, no matter how harsh

Desensitized, oblivious to the fact

Purposely hidden, tucked away

Eyesore

Advancement is forbidden

This pain we work on ridding, ourselves of

In this race to nowhere

It’s a dog eat dog world

Crabs in a bucket climb toward nothing

Goalless because they know less

Soulless, Vacancy Outcasts overlooked, overpassed

Surpassed fast, material things won’t last

Superficial tendencies serves as distractibility

Generational poverty, people are too blind to see

Dice skating across the concrete

Decades of pain, painted over yet still remains

Undesirable but to some admirable

 Cover up chipping away

All they do is pray

But they’re prey

Slaves to their own comfortability

Where alarm should be

Claustrophobia, elevators tight

Travels up and down the flights

Harmful spite

Glass bottles filled with spirits

Intoxication

Stumbles across the filth soaked Pavement

Pariah I now am

Where ridicule lies praise unlocks

Rusty bars, buildings bleeding

Barbed wire confinement all imagined

Invisible to outsiders, inescapable to inhabitants

Stagnant, stalled, regression

Stigma is hard to lessen

Everything blamed on blessings

Well when will our pain lessen

Restrained caged animals lined up for slaughter

Not something I want for my daughter

Rent prices sky high

Privatization, Gentrification,

Hipsters, Yuppies and millennials now dwell

Their pockets swell ours lack

Some say it’s cause were Black

We work to take our city back

My former enemy and I are now one

Hands joined together, cupped, fingers interlocking

Determined for change

Like minds, common cause, same vision

Powerful as one unit

Fight to end stereotypes

Challenge pre-conceived notions

Decay surrounds us yet wildlife sill thrives

This place is breathing and alive

We can thrive

Animalistic turned humane

A victim of my address as I cannot control what’s in my backyard

Self-doubt conquered

Pride now lay where shame once was

Temporary became permanent for many, not I

Badges swing from the necks of

Scrubs clinging to their bodies

Framed degrees and diplomas displayed on the walls

The glow of the bridge

Shrieks from the playing neighborhood kids

Illuminated amongst the dark

Reawakening that spark

Suddenly light casted onto darkness

Change in perception

Into a better direction

Self-love and reflection

From pessimism came optimism

Former dread and regret came appreciation

Life in The "Bridge"

 

Life in "The Bridge"

I, once a priviledged, misguided young girl from the suburbs have been knocked off my pedestal
My eyelids forcefully opened
Informed of the realities of the world outside
The high cost of living in NY and my quest for independence has changed my address
My preconceived notions and biases challenged when I least expected it to
I've now become one with the same individuals I used to look down upon

Forced to dwell with those I once opposed
Awakened by the unpleasant vibrations of construction, drills constantly hammering at the concrete
as the neighbor downstairs is drilled by her partner, domestic violence
profane, vulgarity graces my eardrums
the aroma of drug paraphernalia is  hard to miss
urine stained staircases
the elevators no larger than prison's solitary confinement
Vermin infestations roaches are my bunk-mates

Even the name "projects" is it an indication of some sort of experimentation?

then on the contrary

I've witnessed community togetherness,
residents striving for excellence
youth eager to end this never ending cycle of generational poverty followed by the generations before them, their mothers, grandmothers etc.

Since moving here I've interacted with

Advocates for the improvement of quality of life
College alumni
registered nurses, medical professionals, hospital badges hanging from their necks, scrubs clinging to their bodies

When I meet someone outside of my apartment

looking at me, my high grades, honor student, my demeanor I am welcomed
But as soon as my address is revealed there are reactions of disbelief and even fear
Their once positive perception of me has now changed
Their smiles into frowns

Surprisingly I've never felt more at home
I feel a tremendous sense of belonging here
I now have grown as a person and fight for the destigmatization because I know firsthand that my address does not define me!
As everything is not always as it seems