Write that I (Written from the perspective of D'Angelo from the Wire)

If they ask,
Tell them I was bread against brick bosoms.
The hands meant to mold me
Instead pressed my back,
Shoved me towards the streets.

Doors slammed shut in my face
You tell me, what choices did I have?
My mother's mother was cursed with placenta pumping pain
Ingredients that might help me to cope
Cope with this world I was spit into

They told me that only sissies cry
And no one cares about my story

Tell them instead of their downward glare, I needed a hand up

When you write my story,
Tell them if they'd been me, pressed hard against brick bosoms,
What choices would they have made?


(Persona poem from Rhythm and Resistance edited by Linda Christensen)