By Rosie DeSantis
Kofi & Lauren & Louie & me
(Aaron too),
we found the hatch up to the roof
during recess, said
today, now on,
everything gotta be different...
By Jessica Reed
On the city's west side,
Summer scents of blackened charcoal watered my mouth in hunger for hot dogs perfectly grilled, burnt on top.
My stomach danced to Mr. Softy’s childish jukebox,
kids on my block hustled for $1 passports to ice cream dreams.
Nothing stung like the buzz of the ice cream truck
passing us up ‘cause our shouts were unheard, hands waving into fading hopes,
rising again
when the next truck came...
By La'Shante “Shaunie” Grigsby
...I'll take the good, bad & the ugly
The cold nights under the fire
No lights but that didn't matter
It was the calm and the storm
The love from your child un-torn
It will forever remain the same
It is embedded into my soul that itches to learn of every story untold
Forever and always, I remain Detroit
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by Chani The Hippie
Oscar Grant was on his way home.
Mike Brown was in front of his home.
Aiyana Jones was in her home.
Why aren't we safe in our homes?
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by Heaven Harrell
A woman, beautiful in every way but what happens when that beauty is taken away? Forced into the darkness, her smile, once as bright as a sun’s ray on a summer day, is dimmed, why? Is it because she dressed a certain way? Were her jeans too tight, did her dress fit her body just right? Does that justify what he did that night?
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by Apryl Bantom
Man walking with sickness in his blood
talking to the wingless beings
no one sees but him.
Existing between worlds.
by James Kaymore
I got a shortness of breath and a pain in my chest, my bodies growing cold, I see the reaper of death, there's no-one around and the only sound is me trying to catch a breath, with my hand scratching the ground... figured I was a nigga the moment I pulled the trigger, right after i took a swig of, a forty.....
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by Laura Gibson
You want these words as your own. But you can't have them. They belong on my lips and my tongue.
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by Laura Gibson
We were holding the night sky in our hands.
The stars that stuck to them like flies on wax paper gleamed through our fingertips.
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by Chani Tha Hippie
Someone told me I have the “Light Skin Nigga Complex”
This need to over compensate my blackness.
I had to take a step back and laugh thought about their words and asked
by James Kaymore
In life I am like a child, with paper and a colored crayon.
Scribbling about my work of art, with no ideal, about its ending or start. I pick up what I can grab, and as I drag my crayon around, there is a purpose, but no direction to be found. Yet I listen for the sound, of approval.
by James Kaymore
I look for discipline in my life, in my walk, in my talk - devoid of heartache and strife.
Diligently seeking peace, joyous thoughts, happy feelings, a place to release.
The love and kindness that has been building inside, til I have reached overflowing, and I can no longer hide.
These prosperous thoughts, uplifting emotions. Words combined with actions, my daily devotions.
Kindness, gentleness, kisses, and hugs, mixed together with love - a real magic potion.
by Chani the Hippie
It’s not my fault how I came into this world.
Why hate me because of the love I’ve come from?
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by the 2015 James & Grace Lee Boggs School Summer Interns
Freedom is to be liberated from all things. It is not only the complete emancipation from society’s standards, but also the recognition of one’s self worth...
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