photo: ralph murre, muralist unknown
No
Firefly Summer
by
Sharmagne Leland-St. John
No
firefly summers for my child
No
mountain air clean and mild
Barrio
born and bred
Unlike
her milk fed
Country
cousins
She's
paid dearly
For
our earthly
Sins
No
skinny dips
In
crystal clear,
Glacier
chilled,
Spring
filled
Swirling
creeks
No
rosy cheeks
No
weekends by the sea
Ollie,
Ollie, Oxen free
Never
passed my child's lips
No
daisy-chains or sweetgrass whips
Blind
man's bluff, hide and seek
Were
games she never played
For
this round eyed, streetwise waif
I
nightly knelt and prayed
Oh,
Jungle Gods you have my soul to take
Just
keep her safe
In
every way
For
one more god-damned blessed day
No
summers in a cabin on Moon
Lake
For
my latchkey child
No
cool ocean breezes sweet and wild
Life
in South Central was cruel and tough
And
violence never seemed enough
This
quiet witness, silent mourner
Faced
a thousand deaths each day on every corner
One
can't ignore the crackheads, pimps, and whores
That
lined the streets in droves and scores
No
matter how she tried
She
could not overcome my fears
She
watched while winos died
Drowning
out their tears
In
their own vomit and filth in the churling gutters
She
has seen the squealer as he stutters
Out
his litany
And
the skinhead dealers dealing tragedy
The
gangs that travel wolf like in their packs
The
hollow eyed junkies
With
the monkeys
On
their bleeding backs
With
morbid curiosity
She
views this horrid scenery
Uzi's,
AK 47s
Bloody
glinting blades
No
idyllic glens
Or
faery glades
This
my child your legacy
Este
mi niña su herencia
Mea
Culpa
Me
hija
Mea
Culpa
Maxima
Steeped
in self doubt
My
prayer is all I own to give
That
you might live
Long
enough to get out
Of
the Barrio
Life
in the hood
es
muy peligroso!
Y
puede ser peligroso a su salud
Get
out baby,
Get
out!
~
first published in Unsung Songs (Quill
and Parchment Press)
