They tell us to write in I’s
Like if we ain’t experience shit together
Like black and brown people don’t understand pain
Like we only work hard for ourselves
You and I were not supposed to make it
But we are alive, alive enough to continue the fight.
Stop writing in I’s. It doesn’t help anyone
If you about the people, you about us
You were not suppose to be here, in this ghetto
I was not supposed to be here, in this house with rats and no heat
You and I were not supposed to go to bad schools
But we here – hood made, rat made, cockroach made, no heat AC made
But we here- poverty made, bad school made, violence made
Fuck them, you and I were meant to be here
We are the first people, the most creative people
We are magic. We defeat shit that destroys us
We are magic, beyond any statistic
We here, being magic made
As published in Ritmo Que Late: An Anthology of Submissions during 2018 NAPOWRIMO by DWA Press.
Available for purchase at DWAPress.com