with teenage parents in
the Northeast’s winter teeth
a child dressed in bruises
neglect’s sweat soaking sheets
mother’s resenting eyes
father’s fumbling hands
petal fallen to storm -
cast out to barren lands
exhaust emaciated frame
cement bed of recess yard
fall lapsing into coma white
wake to fifth grade cards
they put a price tag on my vial of life
my breath is profit, not a basic human right
all of the days spent monitoring in fear…
I live for my brother and the people I hold dear
needle pointing compass
navigating veins
all paths plagued in sugar
dizzy missing frames
death hides in my shadow
tugging swollen feet
Christmas skin - jab it in
mother’s sending sweets
survival assembly line
patient demoralized in care
tied up and strangled by
the red ticker tape of our health fare
they put a price tag on my vial of life
my breath is profit, not a basic human right
all of the days spent monitoring in fear
I live for my brother and the people I hold dear…
