Michaela Renee Solomon Poet Bio

Systemic Strain, Not Personal Fault

Systemic Strain,  Not Personal Fault 

"The walk for help- " I walked miles with

Nothing but courage in my pockets,  hoping

The doors ahead still cared ".

" A bank shut its doors on my survival,  and

The pavement became my only witness". After

A bank shut its doors on my tomorrow ".

"Need pressed against my ribs while someone 

Behind a counter constrained against my dignity ."

I stepped into a room built for mercy, but the air was 

Heavy with judgements, eyes measuring my worth

Like I owed them proof  of why hunger had followed me in.

They keep telling you 
"Hold it together "

Like you ain't already patching cracks

In a world built crooked 

You juggle bills,

Appointments, 

System  that glitch like busted streetlights, 

And they still ask

Why you walk like the weight got hands

Around your larynx.

But listen-

This ain't your flaw

This is pressure cooked in premises

You never stepped in,

Policies you never voted for, rules penned

By people who never had to stretch a dollar

Til it yelped.

You ain't the problem. 

You're the evidence.

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