Collection of words

Stories to be told

Hello, my name is Alex Jones my friends call me AJ, I'm here to talk to you about the most endangered mammals on this planet and they are called blacks or African Americans. As a black male, I face the reality that I have to fight a never-ending war that can never be won the most you can do is fight and hope you get to fight another day. I'm too afraid to step out my door in fear that I might end up with a bullet in my chest. I wake up every morning to see my mom stressing about if she and I will have a place to live by the end of the month because she works as a waitress and the amount, she gets for doing that job she barely gets enough for the two of us to live on. As for my father, may he rest in peace hasn't been in our lives since his tragic death.

  I remember that day so vividly my heart aches with sorrow whenever I come across that memory. It was a regular Sunday afternoon, my dad was walking home from a long day at work as at the car dealership and I watched him as he approached the building to enter and a car drove by, next thing I heard was a gun as it went off and saw as my dad was bleeding to death and watched as he took his last breath. That car drove right off when that happened and on that day my eyes were open to the harsh world, we live in. In order to escape this, I started to write poems about all that goes on in my life in the hood and I made a poem that's dedicated to my father who was taken before his time.

"I lay on the pavement feeling the sun's warm embrace

As I feel death's icy hand pulling me

I look up to see a white man standing over me

Explaining that he shot me in self-defense

I remember the punch of the bullet as it forced through my chest

Before I could finish my thought I find myself under arrest

As I lay on my deathbed I can feel the cold air whisper to go to sleep

As I'm close to the end the last words I hear are rested in peace"

The school I go too isn't the best because since my mother can't afford to send me to private school I have to go too public school, we are overpopulated and our school is full of gangs, drugs, and violence my school is just another stereotypical school for black kids. The only good things about my cruel excrescence at this school are my two best friends Jae and Zay, also the fact that it's my senior year of high school. Jae and I have been friends since elementary and I meet Zay when I moved out here in the 3rd grade and from then on, they've been my ride or dies, which means I would do anything for them. As homework for today, our teacher asked us to write about ourselves and our lives so I decided to write a poem because I know it would be a better way to convey myself. So when I came home I went straight to my room got to work on my poem, after hours of trial and error with ideas I came up with this,

"I am a shadow

I am the person who rides in the back

I am the one who is sprayed

I am the one who feels the most pain but still is able to forgive

I am personified by my voice and spirit

I am the one who will never be knocked down

For every time this happens I'll get back up more determined than ever

My voice will no longer be oppressed

I am no longer a shadow, for I've cased off my shackles and stepped into the light of freedom

I am now free and I will guide others into this wonderful light of freedom and soon we all will be free"

The next day I rode the bus ready to present my poem to the class because I was pretty happy with the result of my poem. As I get into the school I met up with Zay and Jae and we go do our thing, Zay and I go smack at some girls while Jae goes boy crazy over the varsity football and basketball players like she always does. After all, that class is about to begin so I say bye to them and hurry up to class so I don't get after-school detention. Class begins and all the kids present and I'm the last one left, so I take a deep breath and prepare to speak and as I do I look at my classmate's eyes and my teacher as they're expressions change from dull looks to a look of fascination. After classes my teacher asked me to stay behind, I thought I was in trouble so I prepared for the worst but then she explains to me that I wasn't in trouble but that she wanted to recommend me to do a weekend college program for young writers, and if the program works out, I could get a full ride writing scholarship to the college of my choice. I was on top of the world, and I thought nothing could bring me down and as the day went on, I couldn't wait to get home so I could go home and tell my mom the great news.