Written By: D. Collins 5/15/25
To Piggy-back what was said by Kendrick Lamar.
I concur that what he said is the way things are.
Around the corner from me used to be Compton High.
On 120th and Central was that Centennial prize.
I go back in the day to the 1960's.
When Fort McArthur took care of our safety.
I remember Barton Hill in the San Pedro Hills.
Abraham Lincoln in Compton to learn fighting skills.
Junior High was the beginning of what was felt.
7th Grade meant I had to go to Roosevelt.
I lived around the corner from the Pilot House.
A Sailor's stomping ground where mom met pops.
Categories:
compton, self,
Form: Crown of Sonnets
Written By: D. Collins 11/22/24
I have no regrets on once being here.
An accepted passion on doing what I did.
I feel good about being in my own skin.
Proud of what I’ve done and where I’ve been.
I did God’s will by spreading His seed.
A boy from Compton grew up to be me.
And, there’s not a moment I would take back.
For being what I am. Strong, willing, and black.
Make a difference in this world, if only for yourself.
Don't spend a second trying to be someone else.
Hold true to your values and try to do good.
Leave a footprint in every place you ever stood.
Categories:
compton, courage,
Form: Crown of Sonnets
Written By: D. Collins 2/15/24
To me, red, black, and green means.....
Black blood embedded all over the earth.
There has never been any who have actually seen.
Being used as a tool with free, yeoman's work.
I put this to paper just in case people forgot.
I've been around a while, and have seen a lot.
So, I'm qualified to give the downright-nitty-gritty.
And, contribute my version of Black History.
It's still bad in Compton, where I was born.
Beaucoup years after Katrina N.O. still ain't home.
There are states removing us from history books.
Now, you tell me, who are the real crooks?
Categories:
compton, truth,
Form: Crown of Sonnets
Couldn't stop my shoulder jerk
When thrillers bassline thrilled
When moaning teen spirits nirvanaed
When curry's lips curled in anticipation
Chilled in Kalifornia Tupac at my side
Bumped and Snooped by Compton corners
Spent Heaven by a dashboard light
Lost kings
Fallen Madonna
Petite princes cried of purple skies
An all male Queen
will rock you ever still
When George sung of his freedom
When bowie's ashes fell
If you try
slipped Lennon's lips or did i just imagine
Bared a week with naked ladies
Nodded head in respect
to the dr dre of the beats
Burnt toes on sunshine walk
as Egyptian's moon walked by the waves
Sting in every breath
Aerials downed the system
Fighters fought the foo
Ushered in a yeah
Skyned free birds one or too
Eva broke my heart
with rainbows cry
A wreath with such respect
O tis reading of bays where shipping docked
In the wine house
turned my back to black
Seen the oceans eyes through Billie's sighs
Hello boomed through a sky that fell
Adieu from hell
Categories:
compton, poetry,
Form: Free verse
Tesslynn O’Cull was only 3-years-old,
when they found her body in a grave near Sweet Home.
It was the worst case of child abuse they’d ever seen
thanks to Jesse Compton and methamphetamine.
This beautiful child was tortured to death,
and I vowed that until my very last breath,
I would tell her story so we’d never forget,
for society owes her at least this debt.
Others saw the abuse, yet they did not tell,
and this child’s life was a living hell.
She was shocked, raped and beaten and no one cared,
as her mother watched, Tesslynn sat and stared.
Tesslynn dared not scream or she’d have to pay
when Jesse threw knives and punches her way.
People came and went, but refused to step in,
so high on drugs that it didn’t matter to them.
Stella Kizer and Jesse Compton must pay their dues,
still the story of Tesslynn is now old news,
and though some may forget, I will keep my vow
to keep her memory alive somehow.
There’s a picture of Tesslynn on my office wall,
and at night in my dreams I can hear her call.
As she reaches out from beyond the grave,
I weep for the child that we could not save,
I weep for the child that we could not save…
Categories:
compton, abuse, child abuse, drug,
Form: Rhyme
4got10 is a word often describing
the memories of my past
4got10 are the things I once
wanted but never had
4got10 are those whom i leave
behind in my life
4got10 may be the difference
between whats wrong and right
4got10 would be locked away
behind prison walls
4got10 much like the infant that
never crawled
4got10 are the goal in which i
never accomplished
4got10 just as the lives of those
on the streets of compton
4got10 much like ive done with
the hate in my heart
4got10 is to 4get meaning did
they even remember from the
start!!!!
Categories:
compton, absence
Form: ABC
youd have to see it to believe it
but im making compton famous
a medusa mask
tribal
leave a candle burning
and a wall of clocks and mirrors
and a wedding day gift i painted
so you walk to your car
or into your apartment
and my window do you see
the blinds always drawn shut
but this artist game is open season for criminals like me
there is a candle burning beside the book
with exactly that title
a kite and a flag of rainbows
and several mirrors to haunt your soul
kept safe by the hands of time
in case you have shattered one
but the grinch of the ghetto christmas is reminding one and all to behold
the cracks that keep us cold in the winter
the pots and the pans
sure it seems messy
but there is such a method to the madness
a pet nmaed rock
and no cats are allowed
but when you wlak by or drive by this view of the closed curtain of lights
and delights
we're onto the mayor of the surprise holiday now
remember loose lipped sunken shppied
Categories:
compton, art, on writing and
Form: Free verse
before Jeezy and Weezy
before going platinum was easy
before rock wit it snapping and leaning
before the souls of B.I.G and Pac was leaving
before the media hyped the east and the west into beefing
before thugging was a part of emceeing
before your image was the star it was words and meanings
before the girls in Compton sang we want Eazy
before Rakim told us to follow the leader
before Run was rhyming about his Adidas
before Grandmaster Flash got his first set of needles
before rappers delight pumped out of radio speakers
before djing,break dancing,emceeing,grafhetti
before I learned to tie up my sneakers
before my mom felt the kick of a fetus
before Africans were kidnapped and beaten
before Harriet Tubman lead them to freedom
before blacks were considered 3/4 people
before the pilgrims left for religious freedom
before Judas sold out Jesus
before the serpent deceived eve in the garden of Eden
before light seperated the morning and evening
I HAVE LOVED YOU
Categories:
compton, black african american, love,
Form: Rhyme