I am a lotus

The unspeakable is thus written

for silence can be deadly unseen

gases oh, innocent masses

shhh quiet

mention not riot!

in ’68 after the assassination of dr. king,

senator kennedy and malcolm…the tanks rolled down

our ghettod street. curfew caught quite

a few “terrorists” raiding supermarkets for food.

the code was red, 24/7 just

like after 9 Eleven…

po folk on the were prime targets

the panthers all afrowed, waved bloody fists

screaming for equality! panting till last breath capability.

suburbs boarded up windows and peered out,

such fright in liberty’s eyes.

rations from welfare delivered irrational

outbursts, hunger pains ate most of us up.

from our 12 inch cement porch rats watched

nervously, black cats, beat with “justice” bats.

hand held german shepards spoke in languages biting

flesh tones seeping aching reds and blues

weeping trains crossed over

“who do you belong to?” i.d.less meant without identity…

a name less, vagrant… to be used

and abused for just being “there” law was

law…for one, for all?

school books fed us mao tse tung, antics,

founding father’s practices and european

semantics…we were 3rd class 4th generationers, living in the 1st world,

trying to help develop the “backward” 3rd world go forward.

i learned very little truth in school from my 1st grade on.

can goods stocked our markets…very few

fresh veggies, can goods like spam, corn,

processed bean paste, spam…can goods with items

so old…they dare not place an expiration date,

lest we expire! now internet eats spam, too!

abandoned buildings grew like mushrooms, which

fester in lack of light…those were the dark

ages…each day, each night.

i was born in a ghetto, a slum…i know

where i come from, i am a lot.us.