South Bronx

South Bronx

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Gregory's Where I'm From Poem

Where I’m From…..

I am from the scent of marijuana
Diapers in the street
I am from Shaquaya, Tatiana, Pookie, and Balla
From, “Two shakes of a lamb’s tail”
And water fights that flooded the rooms and our hearts with joy
I am from guns cocked and loaded, singeing through the weakening fabric of society
From old excrement smeared on the walls
And the smell of urine along the halls
I am from the Thunder Cats, Pokemon, Acme Hour, and Captain Planet
From Looney Tunes, Flinstones, Sesame Street, and Barney,
The Voltron action figure that protected me from the outside world
I am from saggy, wet pampers, wobbling down the hall with my bottle
I am from barbecues in the park
I am from neighborhoods where people kill kids for giving them a look
Inspired from a line they heard in one of Fifty-Cent’s hooks
From schools where students choose PSP’s and TV’s over books
I am from screams and cries of police and ambulance sirens screeching all night
I am from a fantasy land I’ll never get to see
Because I never unlocked the gifts and blessings that were stored inside of me
I am from lyrical kings and queens

From a woman with thirteen kids
Which leaves people perplexed because we never seem to have the means
We’ve come from Staten Island, New York where we’ve faced many tests
And we made it through every one
Each one of us is blessed

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