The Wall

I wrote this a year ago when I wasn't sure how to put my emotions into action after Trump got elected. Today is the last day I will be 25 so I figured I would post this so I wouldn't be lying in my poem.

The Wall

When I was 5 the walls kept me safe, I was in

With my sisters and brother, inside we won’t sin

But truth be told no walls kept us silent

To explore and unearth, our appetite- resilient.

When I was 10 I used the walls for wall ball

My friends grew competitive while I? I grew tall

At 10 I was growing my lusts and desires

On the playground I learned, fighters never grow tired.

When I was 15 the walls kept me studying in school

It wouldn’t take long to decide this was cruel

At 16 the walls were a fence I would climb

To escape into freedom, the feeling- sublime.

When I was 20 the walls barred us from Jackson Avenue

In Memphis your privilege separated the “we” and the “you”

Safely tucked away on our one-acre plot

On the streets North and West, race wars were still fought.

I’m 25 now.

My president thinks a wall will protect us.

Let that digest.

It’s been 20 years since 5-year-old me deemed walls useless.

15 years since the walls challenged me at recess.

It’s been 10 years since in school I grew restless.

9 years since I learned no walls could deny me access.

It’s been 5 years since I found walls couldn’t impede social progress.

…I regress,

A grown man boasts of the walls “great” success

Doesn’t acknowledge that barriers speed up creative progress

…I impress,

His tactics aim to cause social distress

He underestimates the power his pupils possess.