Anatacia's Lament

                        By Stacey Tolbert

HYMEN hijacked at 7

By drive by P.O.W.

protest to ingest

This soul's ELIXIR

Prisoner

Forbidden memories

cause her to reminisce

Lost in no sense makes no

sense

Duck to escape reality

bullets

Composed of

inappropriate ATOMS

On every EVEning

In make-shift temple of

Child shrine

Designated for the world

And mama said

The GARDEN was safe

Anatacia's Lament

Begins at the end

Triumphant yes

Without scars, tatters,

tares, nightmares

IMPOSSIBLE

Tainted gumbo don't go

down the same

Anymore

Yearn to be WARRIOR

child like

Dahomian women who

cut BREAST

for the sake of bow and

arrow perfection

Bone marrow in her skin

been

Broke down to naked soul

of sinFULL

Behavior

SAVIOR watches

As devlish beings wreak

havoc

ON inside

Of the downside

Pre-pubescent hunger

make child look for

empty calories

In BLUE junk food

PINK  pride gone

LAMENT be Anatacia

Cornbread without eggs

or one egg for four

Roaches at the door

removing shoes so as

not to get the place dirty

HURRY over chow

down on YESTERDAY'S

Dinner Thinner now

ANATACIA'S

LAMENTING

Children cry

Wish upon stolen star in

night sky

Shooting like fireworks

during juneteenth

LAMENT.

Over bounced checks

Bounced thoughts

Old soiled panties

Drenched with family

ties

That bind

BOND

BREAK Lamenting

Shell shocked fathers

In VIETNAM Got

FATIGUED 70's

Daughters warring the

Rest of their lives

FIGHTING to survive

Repercussions of alcohol

GRENADES and abusive

Bullets Paying tithes

And excepting unclean

Offerings at the

ALTAR CALL

Mixed up the voices

Who's calling

ANATACIA'S name

LAMENT

Afrikan.  Human. Her words to a dance of Harlem shake meets 40's waltz and dare not be labeled as an everyday spoken word poet. She be griot. Oracle. Orator. Storyteller. Scribe.

Greens and tofu.