Kevin's Self Portrait

my young student writes:

Like Sojourner at a young age I became the Truth
I sometimes fall but I continue to rise like Maya Angelou
Boys talk, men just do what they have to do.
I was raised in the jungle
Grew up in the struggle
Just for the green I hustle
While others push pounds with no muscles
Trying to figure out why their two fingers are not the pieces to the puzzle.

Honestly, it's hard to live the life I live
Most can't think or speak about the things I actually did
A kid with three kids
so hungry on the streets ribs touching ribs
I came from nothing-why tell fibs?

Why tell lies?
Why be surprised
That I finally realized
How to survive and strategize
In the streets where most African Americans get stuck or paralyzed?
Definition-giving up, getting killed, or institutionalized
In the words of Maya Angelou I still rise.

-D.G.

clifford's self portrait