The Rose That Grew From Rikers Island

Have you ever watched someone 

die?

Feel their bones 

             Crack 

     against your insides?

Hear their screams 

   Echo

 Out

 Of

 existence?

I Have

I’ve been built To keep my bars shut

To be nothing but an after math of

not following orders  Built by bricks 

a border Form freedom The separate

between a Man With one foot In a

courtroom the other in chains Prays

his son would Never follow in his

foot stepBut my bars have rotted in

to a mute god I answer to no one

but pale skin and privilege I know

all 413 acre of this land The sun

baked grassThe trauma stained dirt

All normal 

but

The body’s below

Planted the strangest fruit I’ve ever seen 

The body up high

Used to swaying 

Ain't nothing but a nuisance

Fucking up my representation

I am no plantation

Just an after math of one

Just trying to eat

See

Colored inmates are most of my intake

My system isn’t

broken

It’s doing exactly what it’s

supposed to do

Stomach the innocent that fit the description

Let people die

Turn a blue eye to starvation

Ignore their cries 

I don’t mind the killings 

Or this feeling of inmate clawing form my insides

All Normal 

but I can’t stop thinking of this boy 

Who

remember

how

many

bricks

in

a

cell 

but Recount them to keep his sanity 

Morized

The number of maggots underneath the mattress

but couldn't remember what day it is

He’s warm blood stains my wall

The Ceiling light coved in fresh red

Guards didn’t stop him

I

keep

stacking

bricks

Now that he’s gone 

Who’s going to count my money?

Reports say he rotted inside me 

But the officer didn’t know what he was doing 

Just saw a black folk hanging around

Up high 

Investigator question how they got their 

Didn’t they hear about the body that grew from the concrete

#intheoffice #workspace