On leveled land
bones of old men
huddle around emptiness
where hallways reeked
and young girls vexed
Brown dead grass
imprinted with
shadows of stacked bricks
A hell, man-packed to brim
silver survival coating
layers of genocide
Cleverly composed
extermination
of black dwellers
Who never had a chance
Author notes
- 15 lines OR LESS ONLY
A contest entry
- Write Me A Poem!!! How Hard Is That? by PerfectImperfection.
600 points, ended October 28, 2008, 16 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
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Thank you
How can I make my pen bow? :~)
Not sure..
Yours said more in less words that went pretty darn deep yourself my friend.
Hey it was all bad huh?
Understand.
Keep smiling.
Keep writing.
Love Peace,
campanaro
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Excellent imagery indeed... A piece which tells its tale, as well as allows the readers to 'feel' the words, the thought within. Such a very sad write, the expression - forsaken by some, and unfortunately lived by so many others. Thank you for your entry & Best wishes in the contest!
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thanks very much for the nice comment and the contest. ,much love and respect
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There was an old woman who used to tote along a wagon of dogs. Her name was 'Miss Lucy'. I think she lived to be about 96. She claimed to have been the inventor of 'the earth shoe". I know that was before your time but you can look it up. LOL The dogs were all small, about four of them; they were name after infamous presidents. "Tricky Dick" was one of them. She said that Cleveland was "level land". Damn! That line shook me... I heard her voice!
I also was taken by the title. I worked on the grounds of the CMHA (Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority) for about 8 years.
The jects is the same all over the land! I heard tell of some in Michigan that were being designed with black wrought-iron fencing that comes up out of the ground at a certain time in the evening (curfew).
I easily see King Kennedy, Garden Valley, Outhwaite, East 30th, 130 on the West side... Damn! Take me back! I worked those grounds. Know lots of kids that died in inner-city turf battles. King-Kennedy and Garden Valley were literally in the same hood. But don't go crossing onto the wrong side without a go-between...I could go on and on... Maybe someday I'll even give birth to a novel. Thanks for bringing it real.
I love your work. I hope I told you that already, when I first recognized;
YOU HAVE THE GIFT! The best to you in the contest.
One ♥
Renee
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Im glad you enjoyed it. you know i wrote this because i was watching the news and they were talking about this super rise in crime rate in chicago. I for one feel it has a lot to do with the jects being knocked down to build condos and town homes and placing the residents in burbs and other places in and around chicago. now that one war, confined to one area, has exploded all over chicago. everyone has guns (even myself) everyone is crazy, everyoneone is hard up for cash. its a mess. anyway im sorry for this long reply but this poem is very serious to me and im glad u know where i was coming from with it.
I grew up in the jects, and i dont miss it not one bit. and i work like a dog to make sure me and my kids will never have to live there (the ones still standing). I saw my first dead body at the age of 7, 7! Coming home from school, go into the hallway, and a dead man laid there bleeding with his mouth open and tongue out. he hadnt even been found yet, i was the first to see him. freeked me out! ok ok im sorry u got me started and I love to talk. thanks for reading, peace and love
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Wow - this was like a painting in my head.
Great write!
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WOW! This is so deep and very well written. So much emotion in this write here!
silver survival coating
layers of genocide
Cleverly composed
extermination
of black dwellers
Who never had a chance
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thanks for the kind words, made me smile. that was really cool of u, thanks
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awesome job. like others said...you painted imagery with your words. liked this one alot.
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thanks a lot for checkin it out. im glad some of you took the time to read it and enjoy it
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