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Mercedes Hodge Poem
I woke up one day and I felt a lump
My thoughts went astray
And I fell into a slump
I googled online for an answer
What came to mind was I had breast cancer
I thought about pink ribbons and clever T-shirts
I thought of all the women who died
And all of their pain and hurts
I thought of my bald head
After rounds of chemo
I’ve never been mountain climbing
I’ve never been to a casino
I’ve never been horseback riding
I’ve never been to Reno
I started writing a will
And all the bills I had to pay
And it wasn’t until I called the doctor
Who diagnosed me right away
My breast began to leak
And it was all in one section
I was relieved and couldn’t speak
It wasn’t breast cancer
It was only an infection
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
My mother kissed me on the cheek before she died
I never felt so warm and full of pride
I think of that kiss every now and then
It saddens me that I'll never see her on earth again
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
Every time, I pick up the phone
Ones I love are never home
Or they want me to leave them alone
Sometimes, I just want to talk
Or for someone to take me for a walk
I can never depend on them for spiritual elevation
Or some type of positive motivation
The times I prayed for my last breath
No one helped me from falling to my death
The times I ached down to the bone
They faked not being home
Oh God, what about me?
He said, “All you have to do is give me a ring”.
I help billions strong and still have time
For you and everything
You’ve cried in pain until you were dizzy
But call on me, I am never too busy
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
Sometimes I black out and hallucinate
I see things that aren’t there
I think I hear voices of angels
I operate in low vibrations and fear
I have PTSD from the military
And I dread the color red
My heart races in crowded spaces
And I can’t remember things I’ve said
I have episodes of insomnia
And long hospital stays
I see a therapist to talk about my problems
And then I go missing for days
Then all of a sudden, I’m normal again
And go years without incident
I become happy again
And live life like it’s meant
I go off my meds
I think I’m in the clear
Then out of the blue
I’m tormented by despair and fear
The blurred lines between reality and dreams disappear
I am late to work again
Because I’m paranoid and can’t sleep
The melatonin isn’t working
I think I’m being chased in my dreams
Here we go again in the psyche ward
And the treatment is twice as rough
The ebb and flow of mental illness
Takes a toll and enough is enough
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
Sometimes my son is calm
Sometimes he is ballistic
I can tell you where it’s from
The doctors say he is autistic
He hums all day long
Even in the middle of the night
His arms and legs are so damn strong
Because he likes to fight
He screams at loud sounds
And he likes to eat raw noodles
He sniffs like a bloodhound
And he cuts the hair off poodles
He pisses in the bed
And he likes to play with string
He has bruises on his head
Because he runs into everything
He’s intelligent with computers
And he has common sense
He can’t recite his ABCs
Because it was never meant
My son is aware of himself
And he knows he’s not a girl
He doesn’t try to be no one else
He’s created his own little world
The doctors have given him medicine
That causes him mighty falls
But his autism is all forgiven
Except when he punches holes in the walls
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
A skid in the road
A violent left turn
A tragedy to behold
While my wheels burn
Glass everywhere
A cut in my lip
Drivers rubberneck the affair
And I broke my hip
Blood on the dashboard
Bruises on my head
A couple of broken teeth
Months of pharmacy meds
Tubes in my belly
A catheter down below
The wounds are a bit smelly
And they’re healing mighty slow
I learned to walk again
And I bought a new jeep
I would’ve never been a crash dummy
If the other driver didn’t fall asleep
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
Didn’t have to ask twice for me to be his wife
His rib, and the mother of his kids
Anything for him was necessary
When he was on lockdown, automatic was commissary
Remember me?
He never had to walk far
Came from nothing to something
Had it all, Me, the family, property, status, and the car
He became a Ghetto Stupidstar
False love, fast riches, fast money and all the (ahem)
What about his notorious name?
And how he sought to use me in the name of ambition and fame
A lover of the wrong things in life
A rookie in a dead-end game
And they never even knew his name
He used to wash my back and massage my feet
He expressed words of beauty that were only meant for me
We made fire and heat and almost created a little cutie
I thought he’d forever choose me
My heart did indeed fooled me
Because he started using
He forgot the family he was abusing
He started lying, stealing, and robbing
He stayed having his mother sobbing
I begged him to put this itch to rest and come back to the marital bed
But instead, he undressed another fiend’s breast
And settled for some crack and some head
From teeth with jagged edges instead
I think my love is dead
This brother has a problem
Turning his eyes to zombie red
He robbed his own mother and embezzled all of her bread
So, a tear drops my eye
When I see what he became
What a shame
He used to love God
But that white horse made him change
That powder, snowman’s feast, the rock
The no sleeper, night crawling creeper
The grim reaper to the belly of the beast
Stop searching outside yourselves and let knowledge increase
Peace!
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
I had a dream just like Martin Luther King
Last night as I lay in my bed
Thoughts in my head as real as bloodshed
And every single word that Martin has ever said
I thought of the colors of the rainbow
Each color represents my people
A struggle not just between black and white
But, yet a mental tug of war
Of whom will see the light
If my exterior makes me inferior
Then search the archives in my head
Cut me deep and realize that I too bleed red
Just like you and it’s true that he hath created us the same
So, to put me in chains and take away my name
You should be very ashamed
I’m no disciple but according to the bible
There is one God and one true faith
I don’t recall it at all about it being Godly to hate
For God so loveth the world that he gave his only begotten son
He also gave us logic, reason, free will, and dominion
To rule over the animals on the land, and the foul in the air
But, to rule over each other is ungodly and unfair
But as today’s black men try to put away the pain of the past
Let us not lack forgiveness
As we remain strong and try to live long
Forgiveness towards our own sisters and brothers
Make us better Christians who walk by faith and not simply by sight
We can work, play, and live with black, yellow, red, and white
That is quite alright
That is the day that Martin Luther King wanted to see
All of us holding hands, not succumbing to society’s demands
But meeting them tenderly and lovingly
See the hoods are off and the white clothes are cast aside
All racists, idolaters, bigots, and hypocrites must run and hide
I am not saying the act of racism is deceased
But since the day Of King, I’ve seen a minor decrease
Slurs over here, slurs over there but oh can it be
We are finally being recognized as people who have the quality of humanity
We too can love and get along without a fight
That parable alone brings us closer to God and makes us Christ-like
So, keep creating high tech drug smuggling and liquor stores
Because you can delay me and squash me
Miseducate and brainwash me
Systematically mutilate my whole army
You can’t define a whole race by a few ghettos and slums much longer
We are educating our minds as of now
So the next generation will be stronger
See, I know it is tough to bite into what I say
So eat , swallow it, gobble it up
Digest it and make it a part of you and me
Think on it hard before you go to sleep
And you too will have the same dream
To be whatever it is, you want to be
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
If the best things in life are free
Why does the world revolve around money?
Must I die in order to enjoy my fruits?
What lies ahead after the game of pursuit?
After I possess the gold, cars and home
What other wealth can I obtain unknown?
Can I buy a ticket into the pearly gates?
How can I obtain a way to avoid destiny or fate?
Must I pay friends in order for them to stand by me?
Without currency, will the love of my life still lay beside me?
At night, will this witch continue to ride me?
Will the spirit of greed forever chide me?
How long will the almighty dollar hide me?
Worldly riches will never make me whole
For, I am rich within my soul
Yet, my final home I have yet to see
My father possesses riches unknown
Throughout eternity I wallow besides poverty happily
But poverty will never swallow me
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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Mercedes Hodge Poem
I remember the days of the yellow fire hydrants
In the scorching heat, pretending to be a pirate
Having fun in the sun was what it was all about
Buying frozen cups of kool-aid at Mrs.Gertrude’s house
cherries and strawberries, how they melted in my mouth
The boys chased the girls and jammed their hands in our pants
We'd bite, scratch, and threaten them with big brother chants
And if by chance I forgot about double dutch
Or peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches for lunch
But, my hood has changed from the early days
It's plagued with poverty, drugs, violence, and AIDS
Filthiness from all abominations have flooded the streets
My femininity as a woman has become a tasty treat
My heart bleeds, I need the love of God to heal it
The enemy sees my joy and he's come to destroy, steal, and
Kill it. In the heat of midnight chats now the thought starts to
fade me
When reality invades me and the ideal becomes the real
Words supporting ghetto life are slicker than a banana peel
I can't raise babies here, fighting against roaches and rats
I am slaving, hand picking this modern day cotton, and
Wearing all these hats
At the same time being called a hoodrat
Such a thought is unheard
I don't want to live in the burbs
I don’t want to be nobody’s pawn
I don’t want crosses burning on my lawn
For me, it's a mainstream between multimillion- dollar dreams
Laced with lima beans
Maybe, the mountains, maybe the country
So go ahead and be proud my GHETTO QUEENS!
If the slum is where you are from
Believe there is a better world out there than what it seems....
Copyright © Mercedes Hodge | Year Posted 2025
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