Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
This house
Front yard
White picket fence
A driveway that leads to an open garage
Garden
Steps
Living the American dream
Backyard
Caged
Wild stray cats
And crazy neighbors who were drunk just like my stepfather
Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
This house
Walking distance from education
We were
Walking school buses
House to house
Yelling "Let's go!"
When we were really yelling
"Let's prove them wrong because we know they don't want to see black children in classroom seats, they'd rather see black children in class six streets"
But our elementary school minds weren't that deep
That was the first time
I had ever seen a bird ran over
Death
Wasn't the first time I experienced it
Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
Next door neighbors
Filled with kids
You would think it was a foster home for the loud
I was taught how to fight
I was taught that life throws punches way before the age of sixteen
I was taught to duck when one is coming fast
Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
Beer bottles
Brown
With condensation still left on it
White
Pulled out of refrigerators from seven year old hands because
Stepfather needed it
Barbershops
Where you learned that people who need a haircut the most talks the most smack
And back ends of sorority house kitchens where I did first grade homework
And where you learned that the food is frozen before cooked
Janitors and drug deal corners
Ambulance sirens
Gunshots
Gunshots
Gunshots
Fireworks
Police sirens
Red, white, and blue
Oh yes, we were living the American dream
Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
Progressive
Church
Right up the street from our house
Praises being sung so loud I could hear it through my bedroom window
Ebonics
And mom's rich Arabic accent
Like the cakes she use to bake
Hoping to see the day
That these streets will be more in movies
Instead of sitting on couches in the
Front yard
White picket fence
With eight year old eyes looking back thinking that
Sexton and Worley
Garth and Ash
Was my American dream
