Why I Be Writin’ Stuff Poem by Joseph Earl Thomas
Because I never learned a damn thing in school, since D.A.R.E. came long after truth. Because maps don’t work here, and there is oil, but “The Rainbow isn’t Enuf.” Because ain’t no nigga playing Spider-Man Or James Bond. Because it’s raining right now in Antigua, but North Philly is lovely this time of year. Because gaps need bridges, but snitches get stitches Plus, Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law. Because there are no mirrors big enough. Because singing out loud demands confidence. Because Mr. Emas died half-way through graphic design class— took my visual art with him. Because anxiety wasn’t uniquely holding a gun to my head, And Frankford by-laws state I should have long since been dead. Because so few cats can swim and even salmon die trying.
Joseph Earl Thomas is a Writing Studies graduate student at Saint Joseph’s University. A sometimes poet and memoirist, he specializes in speculative fiction centered on disenfranchisement, coming of age as a person of color and prolonged encounters related to war. He blogs on Birth World Problems at josephearlthomas.com.
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