Little ghetto girl so sassy and sanguine
Afro puffs, old shaggy dress, and a big grin
Rushing home from school to lend mama a hand
The little shadow, learning womanhood firsthand
An excursion outside before the lights begin to flicker
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker's man, ghetto laughs before dinner
Hot Cheetos eating and Faygo Orange drinking
Hot topics talking and little boys thinking
Hopscotching and double-dutching
Finger snapping and bus stopping
Now, in the house, she goes for a hot meal and study
Tomorrow, back to school to reunite with her little buddies
Categories:
dutching, 6th grade, 7th grade,
Form: Rhyme
Bastards in my ears again, screaming
Yelling at children on the playground
They were only “double-dutching”
Who are They, Where, How?
His voice is that of a seaman, or captain
Has to be loud, boisterous over the waves
I can hear it in the children’s voices
That he has done this before
Voice paints pictures, huddled up in a room
With the jump rope in two
He swings till his arm gives way, this angers him
And he switches hands, screams paint the picture
Fourteen years later there are no children around
Playground is empty as is the room
They grew up to make it, vicious
They folded right in two
Categories:
dutching, childhood, depression, loss, recovery
Form: Free verse