A POEM FOR THE SOUTHSIDE
Updated: Jul 19, 2020
I wrote this poem after visiting South Minneapolis the day that the 3rd District Precinct burned down. It was a surreal and life changing experience for me. I will never be the same after experiencing those two weeks here in the Twin Cities.
I wish I had wings
I'm flying in most of my dreams
I am always running late for something
For me, that's a nightmare
Even when I have nowhere to go
Nights become dawn
And I stew in my own anxiety
Nights become daydreams
Can't tell what's really reality
Life is a comic tragedy
I wish I had wings
I wish I could find some peace
And release the weight
From my broken black shoulders
I'm shackled by proxy
Take the sadness from my
Onyx eyes
I wish the world wasn't burning
Still tasting the toxicity
In my mouth
Collective sadness
Pouring out walls
Tearing down walls
The whole city was burning
((Collective Trauma))
I feel my heart racing
Even when I'm sitting in silence
As an act of violently peaceful
Rebellion
I wish I had wings so I could go faster
I'd never be late
Because the nightmare
Of being trapped by time
That I always feel is running out
Is exhausting
Every day is a photo finish
The night falls
And I want to dance in that
Let the losses of the day
Turn into a bitter wine
That I can sit and sip
Until I'm drunk off my own self-deprecation
Every night is a heartache
The whole world is burning
I'm on fire
And my soul is melted
Raw
Uncut
I cry tears of years
Of words I spoke
That no one ever listened to
The graffiti spoke to me
The walls told me that I wasn't the
Only one who doesn't feel free
Why us?
The walls were screaming
And I listened
I know what it feels like
To not feel heard
My heart is breaking
And they ask me
How I'm holding up
After night after night
Of staying up
Fighting tangled memories
The taste of the air
The taste of tears
The burn of my memories
I wish I could fly far away
And not chase deadlines
My world is burning
And it's fine
I'll be fine
We will rebuild
With or without wings
DIVINEWORDS © 2020