Project: Poetry

[Jonny Nostradamus]

Hey everyone.

I'm going to be using this thread to post poetry from time to time. It's most likely always going to be of the spoken word variety.

I have a very large passion for poetry and thanks to a close friend of mine, I've been inspired to write and share with the world. That includes everyone here.

I am 100% open to any thoughts and constructive criticism.

Keep it civil.

Also, if anybody else would like to post there own work here, feel free to do so! I would love to read what you all write.

With that said, enjoy whatever is posted here, starting below.

 

[Jonny Nostradamus]

"From Alley, Not Valley"

This neighborhood,
I call home
Feels like a foreign land.

These blocks
That I once knew like the back of my hand
Are now bloody and scarred with what they call "culture".

New York born
New York raised
So why are your transplanted eyes cutting me
Like razor blades?

I dont know country roads or palm trees
I dont know a full bank account with Daddy's money

I dont know priviledged skin or priveledged hair
I dont know priviledged life
I dont know not having a care

I dont know private schools or house maids

But
I do know that hard working Momma who still makes it home and cooks up some dinner

I do know that hustling father that starves for his kids

I do know some kids who learned that a couple of cents and some common sense
Can help you survive another week.

I know streets paved with blood, sweat, tears, dreams, heartache, love and hope
That one day we would make a better life

But not for ourselves, no,
But for those we love, for our community
A hope and a dream to give back to what made us

What happened to the day when the only thing scraping the skies were our cries of cultural celebration.

What happened to the sounds of hip-hop, merengue, bachata and reggaeton?

I walk these streets and every other corner looks like a before and after.

Like before it was a corner store
Now its a coffee shop a few days after?

Like before my freind lived down the street
Now a few weeks after theres a condo?

Like before the cops took 90 days 2 minutes and 10 seconds to respond to a 911 call
Now after 5 minutes they roll through with 4 cruisers.

Our home was not discovered by you
You stumbled and trampled upon
What we built without you

You displace with
Your misplaced intentions

Im From Alley, Not Valley
Raised with respect
And fed with the struggle

I learned pride
How to fight
And never to hide

But none of this matters, does it?
Go ahead and gangbang
With your homeboy
Christopher Columbus

 

[Solid Snake]

Very nice. Good idea as well. I have not written anything in like 3 years I think but I wrote a lot when I was younger. Have no idea where any of my poetry went from way back then. If I can find it, I will share some.

 

[Jonny Nostradamus]

Very nice. Good idea as well. I have not written anything in like 3 years I think but I wrote a lot when I was younger. Have no idea where any of my poetry went from way back then. If I can find it, I will share some.

I would love that! Also, you could try writing some new stuff here to get you started up again.

 

[Jonny Nostradamus]

"American"

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I speak,
For those forced,
To be silent.

Indivisible, yes
But still subtracted.
Murdered
By the executive orders
He
Has
Enacted.

Treated as criminals
Every which way we've reacted.
Oh wait,
That statement is fake news
Let's have that redacted.

I am concerned
Because I am of no concern.
Hypocrisy fueled Democracy,
That's a dictatorship.
It's what happens
When a dick eats the lead
In leadership.

This wasn't supposed to be written.
This isn't meant to be said.
If he has his way,
After I recite this,
There'll be some metal in my head.

Despite what he says,
It won't be American made.
Might just be an AK-47
Or an F-1 Hand Grenade.

"Make America Great Again!"
Let's strip away health care,
And have slaves again!

Let's de-fund schools,
And live in caves again!

Let's build a wall,
And bask in old ways again!

I'm thinking we'll have to sail away again.

I'm afraid we'll lose some souls to the waves again.

I'm worried that we might not find that change again.

I don't want us to end up in chains again.

We can't lose what it means to be American.

It's liberty and justice for all.
It's the long roads traveled
And the hard times endured.

It's the right to be heard and seen.
It's the land of opportunity,
It's the nation
Of immigrants.

Ancestors arrived full of fear
And seeking salvation.

They escaped persecution
So future generations could have life, liberty and go on the pursuit of happiness.

Riddle me this.
You see me at night,
By day you tell everyone about me.
I come back
Looking differently than before.
I sometimes leave you,
In the darkness.
What am I?

"I Had a Dream."