All poems by Latisha Ellis
Reality in a Dream
A sweet breeze washes over the tree Remind me of a peaceful time I once lived
The wind comforts me like a blanket As Mother Nature soothes my soul Where have you been, Father Time?
I’m 22 now.
The leaves sing to me a melody of utopia Where the sky is a milkshake of colors and berry blossoms fill the air
But instead
I look around smack from my delicious day dream
to my reality of a mentally broken estrogen filled alcatraz
Temptation
Walking on the sun as it burns my soles,
She breathes on me and my blood turns cold.
Her kiss is a poison with a hint of sweet.
She’s clever at keeping the devil inside her discreet.
What wouldn’t a man do to be in her arms?
Like snakes dancing in a trance; you’re suddenly charm.
She’ll smile and soak in everything you ever wanted somebody to hear. Then when you are broken, she’ll quench her thirst with your tears.
Take heed to this warning; when you pass her, don’t look back.
For even Satan himself has fallen in her trap.
I Am From
I am from bikes laid out in the front yard while little bad ass kids run around in the streets where the air smells of cornbread and collard greens where we walk by faith and not by sight
and a boy named Trey plays basketball all day and night.
I am from bullets spraying the ground like a rain shower
where supply and demand was weed, pills, and coke
where the only colors allowed in your crayon box was either red or blue and making it to 21 was too old to die too soon
I am from the only way to make it is dribble a ball, rap a line or running track when you turn around and there’s a gun to your back
But I come also from strong black mothers raising their children making ends meet where mothers miss meals so us kids never went hungry
where they break fire hydrants as a way to cool off
and it was the dope dealers paying for formula and diapers and bibs
where 50 cents got you a pop from the truck that sold ice cream
I am from where I am as you can see
I am who I am cause where I’m from made me