Our Chicago
By Sannaya Ward
Summertime Chicago taste like sweet, syrupy mild sauce from Harolds
Teeth chattering lemonade from Babas
It's greasy but good pizza from Italian Fiesta
It's walking down Colfax with some gummy worms from Crystals
South side Summer time Chi is paradise
This is NOT the Chicago ABC and WGN news reports about 2 black boys getting shot
Hands up
Head down
ON THE GROUND!
SHUT UP!
Just Surrender!
Or when you hear about our lost babies
2 year old taken at the hands of people who claimed to love her
Baby discarded like loose change in couch cushions
No more Bubble Guppies or Dora the Explorer for her
No sippy cups
No play time
No binkies
No sweet hugs from her mother
Gone too soon
Our city is under attack by our own children
Selling Crack cocaine on our streets
Shooting blindlessly in the air
Bullets with no names or eyes
Seeking revenge on whomever seems like an “opp”
Yet, we continue to judge them. We ignore them. We don’t fix them.
They are you and they are me
They are our sons
They only reflect the ills of our city
The Chicago they show is so bad that we can’t even walk down the street
Recently it was reported that 2 black males were spotted on the corner
Police say one was armed
NO GUN FOUND
HE had no record.
JUST BEING BLACK
We are defenseless in this city
The defenseless cries of mothers
Defenseless against the boys in blue
Defenseless against our sons
Defenseless against being poor
Defenseless against our school board
Defenseless against our country
How do we fight, defend ourselves?
Just stand by?
Yellow tape
Do not cross
Caution
Body outlined in chalk
We need to better our city. Fix our city. Love our city. Protect our city. Respect our city.
We need to celebrate our city.
Chicago is walks on Rainbow beach
Chicago is the highest point on the Ferris wheel
It is tall and proud like our skyscrapers
It’s concerts in millennium park
It is a city of rapper slash poets
It is the neighbor that greets you after a long day
The boys who carry groceries up for you, who pump your gas at BP, or beats on buckets on Stoney Island
It is the man who sells frooties, much needed cold water, and soft towels.
This is NOT the Chicago ABC and WGN news reports.
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Author:
naya13 (
Offline) -
Published:
June 21st, 2017 17:00
- Comment from author about the poem: this is the poem i wrote for all ages hope you enjoy
- Category: Reflection
- Views:
13
Offline)
Comments3
your poem made me very emotional
we are defenseless
what can we do?
Brutally frank picture of my old home town! Born there. Good write, Naya.
I hope your Chicago, and the other places like Chicago, get a little better for her residents.
It's difficult not to be horrified from over here in Australia (though we have a backyard full of our own horrors).
Good write Naya. I appreciated it.
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