Ariel Heffner 

A Slam Poem

Different House, Same Street 

 

There are beaten down, worn out and dark houses on a quiet street.

 

In that house is people trying not to weep because they know if they get pulled over by the police,

they aren’t just getting a ticket they’re never even going to get released .

 

In another house is a Muslim shaking to open the door to outside because she believes in their heaven and just for that a white man says, “you’re the cause of nine eleven “.

 

In another house is a girl who got raped, she resisted the temptation to say it happened,but now it’s too late because of the unwanted statute of limitation. People ask, “Why didn’t you tell the police or something of that sort,” but the girl only had 7 years to report and after that her face will only be forgotten in the eyes of the court.

 

In another house is a Latino continuing to hurt because he gets yelled at for not speaking English at his work . After getting criticized from nine to five he sobs because apparently he “steals American jobs” and now he doesn’t even want to be alive .

 

In another house is a boy scared to come out , because his Christian parents claim that’s not aloud . His sexuality now makes him disowned and he doesn’t even have a home , and now he is left ..alone .

 

In another house is a black man getting nagged for protesting against the flag .

He doesn’t think racism was just left back then but it doesn’t matter because the cops just beat him again .

 

In another house is a single mother fighting for Medical care and Welfare because her kids only have one plate of food to share .

 

In another house is an innocent child getting mentally abused and physically bruised. The kid continues crying because DHS doesn’t do nothing and just assumes he is lying .

 

In another house is a kid stressing over standardized test because school claims bubbling in multiple choice answers determines success. The kid knows they give awards for high test scores, but not for kids who take care of their alcoholic parents who are drunk when they walk through the door. 

 

In another house is a little girl deciding if this should be her last breath and if she should decide her own death because his mom didn’t choose her but she choose meth. 

 

In another house is a transgender boy being hurt because he wears a skirt instead of a boy’s shirt just because he believes he was not who he was at birth .

 

In all these houses are anxiety, rivalry, discrimination against the minority and people who think they can kill just because they have the authority.   In this house is us... society .