Life Story

By A.R.

 

How do I start my life story?

Should I start when I popped out my Mother in 1994

or do I start on the day when my Father walked out the door

maybe I’ll start on the playground

where ears were covered to block  out the sound of gun sound

where a body could be found where I play

and police harass me and friends all day

writin’ my life in poetry is hard if you have nowhere

to start

Wait I can start….

When I slept with the bathroom light on

because I was scared of the dark

or even when I got beat up in the park

because I wouldn’t share my chalk

or how I was laughed at in school

because I wore shoes with no socks-

Sometimes, how do I write poetry bout my life?

When half the time I don’t know if where me and my family

Goin’ sleep at night

or was I going to be alive the following night

and make it to sunlight.

Okay, hold on, I got it get ready to take notes

starting at 10-

when I seen crack addicts sleep in the hallway

high off the drugs they smoked the previous day

when teachers in school called me dumb-

because of my test grades

So How do I start my life story?

When I can start from so many places

So, you pick like your favorite food on a menu

until then my life story is to be continued….

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2 Comments

  1. John Lash on May 17, 2012 at 3:55 PM

    A.R., thanks for sharing this with me. It starts now.

  2. tytheman on May 25, 2012 at 12:17 AM

    This is heartbreaking. You’ve struggled so much. Your poetry reflects that too, it seems to capture that emotion so well. Saying your “life story will continue” I’m guessing means you haven’t give up hope yet. What really struck me was the line, “or even when I got beat up in the park/ because I wouldn’t share my chalk,” I can really empathize with that, as something very similar happened to me as a child. Keep writing, your style of writing is very unique and should be appreciated for being so.

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