About This Poem
I wrote this piece in the early 1990's, after spending the previous decade growing up in the pressure-cooker of a drug and gang infested neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.
In the mid-eighties crack cocaine dealers in a few of the major U.S. cities began to expand their operations into the Midwest. Local law enforcement was completely unprepared for the level of violence that ensued. Entire neighborhoods were changed practically overnight, ours was one of them.
Life can be difficult outside of this environment but inside a crime-ridden inner city neighborhood life is lived fast, it is lived hard, and some people never escape. My younger brother and I were two of the lucky ones to get out and the lessons we learned have served us both very well in our adult lives. I hope you enjoy the poem.
Peace
Why did we say peace instead of goodbye?
You may not understand but I ask that you try.
in the world we grow up in peace is hard to find,
harder to own, many don’t make it to grown
violence, constant stress,
it’s enough to make you want to lose your mind,
grab a 9(mm) and say, “What’s yours is mine!”
the hood is a problem made up of many layers
how many children want to grow up to be players?
Little or none, it’s learned behavior son
naysayers stand up, let me see your papers.
Where do you come from? A rum-pa-pum-pum
why do we bob our heads to the drums?
Two part answer, to escape...to awake
headphones strapped on so tight for goodness sake
to seal out insanity, preserve our humanity
go ahead put the blinders on, all wrongs are right
only in the absence of light is there black and white…
and gray days, with no hope of heydays
under this kind of pressure many good people go bad
when they start to believe this life is all they’ll ever have
at seventeen Melvin started selling crack to his dad
it was sad, when a decent life is what he could’ve had
Why did we say peace instead of goodbye?
You may not understand but I ask that you try.
When it’s survival of the fittest, only the strongest will rise
dreams go unrealized, the rest are ground down to size
I’m still mesmerized, by how many friends have closed their eyes forever,
It can happen to you, don’t you ever say ever
the wrong place, the wrong time, your trump card is pulled
misconceptions still foolin’ while the bullet’s coolin’ in you
even the cleverest of the clever may never make good
this is a glimpse of life of life growing up in the ‘hood.
In this upside down world, sinners are saints,
Isn’t is ain’t, there’s no end to the taint
Don’t be too quick to judge and scorn
It’s under just such pressure that diamonds are born,
remember, even the tattered and torn
can one day, rise up reborn...PEACE
I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and goofball. To follow my unfolding story please visit my website here to sign up for my author newsletter.
Excellent and potently lived for many, definitely you included. By the looks of it it might have ruffled the feathers of your innocence but you are, as you say, as survivor and through your words of wisdom earned by years of tough life, we most hopefully will grow.
The line "...only in the absence of light is there black and white..." is so powerful, I'll share that one forever. Thank you for sharing of your soul with us again. All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
Thank you, @eric-boucher! Happy Holidays to you my friend!
✌😎
That's a great gif. Love is greater than hate :)
Thanks! Yes, love is much more powerful!
Merry Christmas, @ebryans!
Thank you kind, sir! I had to send you that with the 5th stanza as it is! I am sure you got it but the juxtaposition was too good! It is now Christmas here - you the first of my on the day Merry Christmasses!
Great poem. @ericvancewalton I like that you are not running from rhyme (as many poets today)
Thank you @seethe!