FROM THE
From the Laureate I first met Des The Poet in Salina, at the ONE MIC poetry event during the Smoky Hill River Festival in 2018. We read back to back on a hot summer day. It was 99 degrees outside, but Des The Poet wasn’t sweating it. Des was calm, cool and collected. That day, he had something to say. Des has always spoken openly and sincerely about overcoming hardship. His outreach to youth is commendable. He’s one of those poets who isn’t writing for himself but for his community. He believes that writing is a form of meditation and therapy and an outlet to release emotions, ideas, and thoughts. His philosophy is “You get out what you put in, through all situations! Keep them feet moving!” –Huascar Medina, Kansas Poet Laureate
About Des The Poet Born and raised in Wichita, Desmond E. Bryant White—or Des The Poet—is a 3-time published author of poetry compilation projects as well as the book Better Days in 90 Days: Secrets, Tips & Cheat Codes. He is a national spoken-word artist, motivational speaker and authorpreneur powered by sincerelydesi.com.
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KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2022 ISSUE 3
Keep Them Feet Moving by Des The Poet
Trying to shake these demons up off me. If you don’t change, you stay the same. Day by day nothing changes, yet we wake up and everything’s changed. I’m getting smarter. I’m getting wiser. I’m a razor, cutting drama. Going harder. Going farther. Baby steps or I’ve been crawling since a toddler, trying to prosper. Get rich or die trying, blinded by what the hood has to offer. We live in a day and age; new graves dug every day. What can I say? It’s a shame. They are shooting up football games. Stress levels are raised to the point I’m growing grays. I hop on planes to get away. I just pray for better days. At my feet, they lay, what? These problems. I step over them every day, what? These obstacles. All that stuff that weighs you down, you got to learn to let it go. I get ghost to clear my mind, so lately I’ve been laying low. Introverted. There’s nothing wrong. I just need to be left alone. I recall a time that humbles me. I was trapped, no vision at all. The only thing that separated me from freedom were those laws and those walls. They say blood is thicker than water, but so was mud. I was in these streets tough. Banging, throwing up BLOODS! Effectuated with a lifestyle, until I found out what it really was. No Brotherly Love Over Oppression and Destruction. Black on Black violence, we shoot each other like it’s nothing. Blue on Black violence, police kill, then we riot. But protesting without demands. Do we even know why we fighting? Closed lips in a generation with no leadership or guidance. Youngsters wearing gloves and masks, before we ever knew about a virus. The shine we crave thrives, from the darkness inside of us. Makes you wonder what it is that made them people despise us. Life’s too short; breathe deep. You got to make up your mind on who you really want to be. Either you work for yourself, or you build someone else’s dream. Do you want success? More than you want sleep? Do you want success? More than you want to eat? Do you want success? Do you really? We will see. Keep them feet moving, and one day you’ll see that inside you’ll find all you need. You must have faith and believe.
PHOTOGRAPHS courtesy Des The Poet, Shutterstock
Poet Laureate
