Dark side of New York
A city so cold, warm, sunny,
A city where your dreams perish with a blink of an eye,
Where color defined your rights
Where hate and sorrow covered mothers of young black men
When you walk the sidewalk,
all you see is blood and cops
mistaking the innocent for criminals.
killing a father of five
yelling “ I can’t breathe.”
where children are missing with no justice
We need justice! poor souls plead
When the system does not take out the innocent
we take out each other.
“The city of freedom”
Where doors open, yet you can’t go through.
Where you have to pay your way out to fulfill your destiny,
every man for himself
Where people are scared to walk the street at night
Where gang members kill and rob the innocent for their hard-earned money.
A place where loved ones aren't safe
A place filled with darkness.
A city where your dreams perish with a blink of an eye,
Where color defined your rights
Where hate and sorrow covered mothers of young black men
When you walk the sidewalk,
all you see is blood and cops
mistaking the innocent for criminals.
killing a father of five
yelling “ I can’t breathe.”
where children are missing with no justice
We need justice! poor souls plead
When the system does not take out the innocent
we take out each other.
“The city of freedom”
Where doors open, yet you can’t go through.
Where you have to pay your way out to fulfill your destiny,
every man for himself
Where people are scared to walk the street at night
Where gang members kill and rob the innocent for their hard-earned money.
A place where loved ones aren't safe
A place filled with darkness.
I enjoy the statement "When the system does not take out the innocent we take out each other" It highlights the problem with double consciousness within our community
ReplyDeleteheld back by devotion to aligning with the stereotypical ideals associated with being African American. For example being "tough", violent etc. is commonly associated with "Blackness". Therefore you see youth trying so hard to emulate this but it works negatively against the entire community. It's like you're "damned if you do damned if you don't" If you don't align with the stereotypes and display different interests associated with positivity then you're cast out as "trying to be white" hence the terms oreo (white on the inside black on the inside)etc. Advancement like pursuing an education is seen as "unblack" so impressionable young adults and all age ranges in the community align with what's expected of them and join gangs, drugs etc.
Then comes the never ending cycle of generational poverty. But people like myself are tired of this negative definition of "Blackness" and will continue to challenge and act as an individual versus following the crowd.
Very strong poem, as a native New Yorker I feel like I want to stay here but I also would like to relocate due to the recent problems you highlighted above, so I'm conflicted.
I also noticed the Eric Garner reference as well.
What comes to mind is The Dark Side of America. It's the 'land of the free' but when you look at the 13th amendment, how free are we? Hardly if not at all. We'll be targeted and victims of hate until the earth and heavens are no more. The justice system isn't designed for women and men like you and me, so unfortunately, this our reality. It hits us all at different degrees and it says a lot to see you chose to speak on this as your first poem.
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