~Chill~

You have to chill.
Was the advice given to me
By an older prisoner
Who lacked guidance

Handing me a stick
And a pair of shades
He said, "you have to chill."

Said it from inside a pit
An open grave
With leaf-lets of years
Scattered every which way.

Dried Almanac spines
Taped to a cross
Shaped by metal bars

You have to chill.

Words spoken on a prison bench
By a basketball court

To keep us entertained
I just watch

Basketball was never my game
So I challenged him to a game
A game of chess

You have to chill.

He could see the frustration on my face
As his queen moved every which way.
Snatching my pieces dead
Finally yelling, "Mate!"

You have to chill.

~See~

Listen
To the crows
As they squawk for flesh
A dark cypher blocking the sun
People think is an eclipse
But I know what it is
A black mantle
That will descend
Over the domes of innocent
Women, men, and children
All those gazing up at the sky
Missing the yellowish beaks
That will one day tear their flesh
The ones missing the darkness
Inside the eyes that will one day
Bury themselves in raw blood
Their blood.
I scream
I yell
Trying to warn them
But the people...
...They don't see it

~Never Afraid~

I wasn't afraid
I am not afraid
I will never be afraid

I reassure myself
That I come from a line
Of strong women and men

Strong minded individuals
Who fought hunger,
Poverty and addiction

Men and women who knew
What life had to offer
And what to accept from it

They accepted breath
Their lungs inhaled life
To keep on fighting

To keep on going
Even though a future wasn't promised

Neither was freedom

From a life of leftovers
Heated over flaming alcohol
In an aluminum cap

A bent spoon
Used to melt
Hard substances

Same spoon morphing into a choo-choo train
To feed the mouths of my starving sisters
Defenseless babies

Who drank black water from bottles
To quench their thirst
Inhaling fumes from illegal factories

Burning resistol-cinco mil and Tiner
This is where I come from
I come from this

From warriors who made it through everything
With their heads held high
Never bowing a knee

~Truth in Lies~

I never believed your lies
Til' now.
What you write on paper rings true
Forcing me to believe
That the sky isn't blue
You told me that before darkness
It switches hues
So somehow I find myself
Forced to love you.
Even when no lines are scribbled down
When mail doesn't come around
I still believe you
Still believe
That you're out there waiting for me
That you look up at the moon
And blow it a kiss
And so I fall asleep
Engulfed in dreams
Waiting for a letter
Which will include a couple lies
About why it took you so long to write
But I won't mind
Even if I had to wait
Years for a reply
A simple hie
With a bittersweet goodbye
I'll wait for your letter
And will continue to find truth
In each lie.