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Let me speak to you the words that reside between the lines of what defines poverty. Poverty....
I remember thinking, 'there's no way I love you yet'after giving you the last hair tie that I had left. But call that wishful thinking because I was already long gonebefore I even knew where you came from. 
I remember thinking, 'there's no way I love you yet'after giving you the last hair tie that I had left. But call that wishful thinking because I was already long gonebefore I even knew where you came from. 
The mind can disconnect from the body when it is too painful to be in our vessel. Almost like a complete decapitation of the head, but the body is still of use. Now why would a person do that?
Some People Are EVIL ... !!! Some People Are Nice ... Some People Believe ... In The Lies They Contrive ... Black People White People Yes ALL TYPES of People ... !!!
Who AM I?? I am to help you wIth the neglect abandonment all the tears wept I came to you as they went I remember you when you fIrst began alone you crIed starved
i descend in my seat, waiting for the lesson to begin looking around, all I see is desert a desert so dry and empty yet so full of people i may never see again 
A soul met another soul.. There is a vibe, in mind & body whole.. A bright smile after decades... I begin to come out of the darker shades..,,
Is Poetry ... DEAD ... !?! Well NOT According To CERTAIN Heads ... !!!
Ya Know I Use It Like A ... ..... " Nine To Five " ..... But That's NOT My Line ... !!! I Don't Plagiarise ... !!! These Words Were Inspired ... By .... Inity Fire ....
Grounding me, similar to the acts of a ship’s anchor You are my stability. Anxiously waiting to hit land,  We met,  like wave greeting beach
He's a stable smithyThinks his genius words are pithyAs he pounds, pounds, poundsInto the night.Swings his big word-hammerNever minding lies and grammarCuz he's gotta, gotta, gotta
When you're rushing back and forth in desperation,You will find me  When you're so in over your head at night under your blanket,
She asked when do you know a poem is finished    I replied I don’t   I write until I have nothing left to say   I write until the pain stops or starts to fade away  
A broken geneology written to shine By: Joey Diatte   A crooked line of decietful acts Bizarre mixed interactions where joy still lacks With life as light as air
I flick a cig and it lands on a leaf, Burns to the ground and spins my beliefs, Here is where I see a glimpse of hope, A visual summary.   Time and time again, I see this reflection,
Tears of joy in a rain of hearts. Clouds spread across the wall with flames engulfed by a passive wave. In this day I found my pain, My freedom, And my closure.  
The sun just rose in lost connection, Please undo the times we have held onto believe, False hope, dreams, and expectation. I'm just glad those two came out alive, In due time, it's overwhelming inside.  
My brothers and sisters, Related by the shade of our skin. My brothers and sisters, Targeted by men who can’t fit in. My brothers and sisters, Running from the pigs that harm our men just because they can. 
It's as if the breath that i was holding onto,  For a mere 20 seconds,  Was life giving me the chance to take a pause. A pause from this mad world.
Vastnessis a conceptcreated to stretch boundariesof perception and allow forthe unknown to present itself.
Her eyes blaze with guilt, and an outrage at being guilty. Being caught.   I patiently wait for the crows, who so lovingly printed their feet
You are an ocean I promised myself I wouldn't get lost in, but I went into this with no compass, no map, and no intention of asking for directions.
Let's get lost. Get in the car and drive until the buildings no longer look familiar. We can sing along to our favorite songs, ones we're embarrassed about knowing all the words to, but then scream them at the top of our lungs.
I can feel myself beginning to drown in you. My lungs are empty and I need the soft exhale of your breath as we kiss to keep me alive.
She taught herself how to lie. Through gritted teeth she claims that she's fine, but the world sees otherwise. She has fought for so long. Collecting purple hearts from the battles her soul has faced.
i taught you how to love again. i helped you open up your heart to more than just the familiar. the love you had grown to know.
No you can't have my son. He is very rare, the streets,  and the jails look somewhere eles! You want to take him but not while I have breath. My little black boy you've already gave a name:
Standing in your shadows why you out here, pretending to ball. DANG! You hear that? The whistle just blew. Now you froze like you don't know what to do. Didn't notice me from\
Present in class, under the antiseptic light of the lecture hall my words infect the air, and my fat brass opinion dissipates into discussion. The next hand raises
Your daughter is not timid I'll fight all the demons No matter the outcome You've been my armour from the day I was born But now it's my time to face the challenges So I shall, and overcome them too.
Hello, I’m—different.   I was in first grade when I knew I was different. Ironically, I knew I was different because all I did was hang out with girls.
Dear Future Child(ren) I was only sixteen when I told your grandparents I never wanted to be like them.To start off on that note is probably the least positive I could've done, I'm aware.
This poem is a vulnerable exposure of some of my life's struggles. Please let me know if you enjoy it and follow me on social media! Facebook: /eternityspoet IG: @eternityspoet  
She looked in my eyes and asked me, "What other things have you said before me?"Darling, where do I even begin?
My mind retraces dark places skin deep hatred of flesh deflated. The escape sedated for freedom pasted a truth that collated heartless faces. I stated the case of pain that wakes and breaks like glass in shattered places.
I’ve stripped these lines bare like faces that passed me by where I saw through the concealment of the outside. I’ve put my lines to the test of real investment and here my heart sits naked like body flesh.
Sleep, that place where fantasies keep & time repeats merged between the seams of sheets where some nightmares creep at the beat of consciousness in deep. Sleep.
I once knew a boy that was so broken,  he couldn't even believe it himself. He thought that love was not for him,  he thought that he was not good enough to give his love to someone else.
Why does this keep happening? Why doesn’t anyone love me, Want me, Want to be with me? Am I worthy? I feel unworthy, So dirty, Disgusting for lusting and giving my body
Tuck in the shirt and tighten the belt, it'll help you look smaller. Tighten the apron. Eat breakfast because it should be the only big meal you have today. I wonder if they think I'm beautiful?
It's this weird feeling like someone just gave you a sip of water  after a life long drought like seeing the sun set for the first time after years of being blind love is something like that 
You've hurt me so bad You've trampled my feelings so hard Yet, I still love you You've shoved my feelings to the side You've flicked my care away like it's nothing at all Yet, I still love you
You were only sitting about two or three rows ahead of me, but it was still close enough for me to tell
Once Upon A Time... There was a princess named Rapunzel Born of a Black father and a White mother, Rapunzel was praised for her curly hair Natural curls
I was born in the fall of 1998, to a woman I never called mom. Picked up at four months old, by a couple looking for a daughter.    My formative years were great…except when they weren't.   
NUMBERS   Dedicated to the people around the world who I really want to help. …but I can’t quite just yet.  
Every morning when I wake, I have to fight a dragon It is a fierce thing, that claws at me and pushes me down Weighing me with thoughts on the coming day and what might go wrong
you say it all the fucking time   Should it mean more than what I feel it does?   Nothing?  
I saw you last night, you filthy man.  I saw you in your car, you picked me up like a stray dog, made sure I was safe and locked in before you drove away. you pet my leg and told me you missed me.
theres a man in my head he made his own bed he puts fear in my brain and ice in my veins he pulls me from the people i love most and pushes me towards ones i hate most
She asked oh no do you do spoken word too, To which I answered did you really think that question through, Cos as far as i know, Spoken word is written on a page but performed for an audience, It relies on heavy use of rhythm, rhymes, word play, a
You didn't know that when you met me,I was sad.You didn't know when you met me that I didn't know how sad I actually was.You didn't know that when you
Our bodies are crooked-pigmented- pressure points.Stacks of lose boards. Mine throat a crumbling stone chimney.Yours a pipe bending with all the pressure built up in you're chest. We creek in the way neglected floor boards do under weight. Hands,
I spent a long time in chains but really it's been a blur/And all the time I lost to me it never occurred/ I steer clear of most cause envious ways turn me off/You keep paying attention to jealousy, the shit 'll start to cost/
We live in a world full of desperation and fear   Where politicians and leaders play dirty to stay on top, Where the well-off fool themselves into a false sense of secrurity,
We ruined them.   People say things without a care in the world, Altering the meaning of our words. Powerful words turned into meaningless phrases, "I love you" turned into "I like you",
All my life, People asked me what I wanted to be, What I aspired to, What I want to do. At first, I was like every child in the world, Wide-eyed, full of hopes and dreams... And then, I grew up...
I mean you tell me where I'd be if it wasn't for the poetry God gave me the gift of this expression to ward off depressionI mean if only you knew the things I've been throughI use  the words from my pen to ward off being vengeful I mean it could a
I learned the difference between an astronaught [a. s. t. r. o. n. a. u. g. h. t] and an astronaut [a. s. t. r. o. n. a. u. t] during the fifth grade spelling bee.
I am a strong, independent woman Let me repeat myself You obviously weren’t listening I am a strong independent woman
Oh, you've done it now. You've hit the switch. None of this would've happened if you never met that chick. But I'm trying to figure out what's the hype? Is it cause he's tall, dark, and handsome. Is that your type?
Growing up, I learned that if I wanted to be with the angels, I had to attack the situation from a different angle, In order to earn my halo, Which I should never hang low.   Growing up,
Grow up, they’ll tell you. Put down the toys, stop the tinkering. Life’s more than just messing around they’ll say. Develop a purpose. Go out and make a difference.
Looking through a bleak view. I’m not as weak as they assume. It was a dark time, in a dark room. How can this world be flat when everything has been spinning out of control? I needed someone to be there and not let me unfold.
I felt as if the world stopped and shattered. I felt a pang of regret and sadness. I didn't regret being here with you or telling you that I care about you. I regret the way it happened.
Removal of passion was the last resort, the last plan of action. hoping to patch up the wound she left when she tore apart your heart and left it there to remain broken. Lost in the world, you swore you'd never trust someone again.
Looking into his eyes, cold, empty full of lies. Who was this man standing before me in this disguise? I've seen that look one too many times. I wish I never was a disappointment. But this man gave up on me a long time ago.
some people strike oil when they dig deep for me it was words each time a drill bit hit me, bored a hole in my soul with unkind words, unwant, I wrote, to have some form of pain that
When you ask me, "Are you okay?" I want to say no, I want to say that I'm breaking inside, That I'm a shattered piece of this human being I used to be,
Poetry – because practice makes perfect Fiction was my first love, first poem I rejected It was terrible – oh so terrible Nonacceptable So I stopped writing ‘em for awhile
Our fingers grip halfway intertwined and lip to lip we hang between birds and moonshine  it's 3 am and we’re making out on a park bench.  it's 3 am, we're making out on a park bench 
Ah, the...”age old” question. If you suddenly became Tom Hanks in one of the movies that he surely has pasted onto his résumé by now, but you got to take one thing with you, what personal item would you take?
This is to those souls who turn penciled prose once froze poetically Into hearts spoke phonetically Because Respectively Some words are too great To be caged upon a page. So Here's to
Dear my friend, It started with a simple hello, And ended with no goodbye, There was a time I hurt you, And for years my selfishness never understood why, For now I have matured, and now I do,
I would take with me, only the thing that sets me free, If you became tansparent when the sound filled your ears, you would understand what I mean when I say that's all I want to hear.
Writing by the light of a door cracked open is the most honest one can get with oneself. Especially when that door leads to the hallway of a psychiatric hospital.
I hated him so terribly, so much so, I was confusedI wanted to bury my fists deep into his chestand slide them out comfortably "The thing is," he said, "I tried"We're both asteroids on a forgotten constellationAnd I held his gaze, held in my anger
She runs away to hide nobody giving her a second glance  so no one sees her cry why can't they give her another chance Broken girl all alone locked away in her room putting on her headphones
Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. Could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?
Pludering towards the shores  the hurricane rises higher, each wave more fierce then that last.  The sea green water churns  and those on land fear the damage it may do,
  So it was winter break and we decided that we would go to her parents house since she would always come to mine on holidays and occasions.    
When I use words to explain my depression, I use those of others. I claim to be a writer and yet I become so certain that what I have is too little.
Person 1: In a land of peace Why does the hate increase When the “Christians” see A woman in the street Cloth on her head
I am a child in a grown man’s world, yet I am a king/ I am the light in the midst of darkness/ I am a brilliant mind among ignorance/ You may ask, “Why then are you not in the public schools?”/
Our eyes lock on each other l
I want someone. Someone whose thoughts will collide with mine. Someone whose thoughts shall make love with mine. Someone whose on the same wavelength as me. Someone who can fuck with me.
On a night in the summer, I can remember Large thumping boxes swapping waves of thrilling pulses to overtake the silence. Joyous and primal, I move through the drapes of large tents
Matter doesn't matter, it's chemicals that scatter. It's your food, it's air, it's water. It's human and nature. It's infinite space around us. It flows like rivers and falls like snow.
I am madness, 
I am feeling like white space. Like empty jars.
He bound her hands and gagged her. Then he knelt beside the bed and prostrated himself in prayer before getting on top of her.   When it was over, he knelt to pray again….
I wonder, where are we going? We’ve sat here for years, Reading and noting, Learning but never knowing. What it is that lies ahead: Is it joy, is it dread?
  Dearest Love.
“Tired of hurricanes or tornadoes carrying away your home?
outside a man in a suit whistles    Briefcase set on sunbaked sidewalks  
I sit in a grease sweating Chinese take out box, but some call it an airplane seat
that’s the problem, I don’t know I’m on a wooden boat being tossed to and fro
What is hope but an endless rope  not the one meant to choke
Im from Fudge From long games of hide n' go seek
  race riots race wars what the heck is going on   
If you know the feeling of the warm sun peeping through your window, it means you’re blessed to feel a sensation.
I can’t go back,
See a kid from high school like all the rest he just wanted to be cool.  Wanted to be the best. He Smoked what they spoke, and drank what they wrote, 
Teenage angst, women wearing spanx to insecure to say thanks can’t take a compliment their disaster’s imminent don’t really know if this is relavant but im doin this for the hell of it
Do you know what it's like To wake up every morning to the same damn ugly face To look in the mirror and wish that your body wasn't so blemished with scars and imperfection
Now that I have found refugee on the fence, you wish to tease me.It’s like you can read me.Smelling desperation on me like death on a corpse,lying at the crossroads.You twirl your finger around half of me,
What are visions? Are they dreams? Are they prophesies? Are they fantasies? Are they lies told to ourselves? Are they glimpses of another dimensions in which we are the same person, but walk a different path?
I promise I'm not xenophobic brothers and sisters forgive me for my insecurities,I'm only afraid to see you having the courage I lack to get this paper on roll but forgive me If I wronged you.
The hood is thy only institution that teaches a n**ga about the realism of life the truth vs a lie.
the system is the reason the hood got so f**ed Up in the first place Everyday we get trapped in the chain Of the system and dressed in the Same costume its no wonder success takes
Step out of your comfort zone and become unstuck out of your ways and show case your skills to reach your most greatest Levels in life. Be crazy enough to dream while you still have the chance and become more than just the
I am an african child with a troubled journey to success,A cursed spirit that lacks faith for its own creator because I carry a heavy a** dark cloud of fear for my own ancestral chosen path ever since religion forced me to turn my back on real af
I'm a dreamer call me a prototype of reality A destined leader with a calling to pave these streets with hope,so my followers keep believing In the image of JAH again when they see I The creator who designed me to be a warrior with these words tha
A video in support of education and teachers, made to show solidarity with the BC Teachers during their strike in 2014.
This video was created to transmit disgust with incidents of law enforcement officials relying too heavily on violent measures of interventi
I've never let my race effect my progress
Who are you to tell me what I am and what I’m not Where I come from, where I’ll go What I have been through and what I’ve seen What I will go through and what I’ll be Who are you to say I am wrong
As we lay, deep breathing, of a passion filled night.
Broken Clock
My mother,   She is all split ends and spent batteries and i find myself wondering how she is able to find her feet in the morning.
Life so Unpredictable
Love is a beautiful thing,
I met him in the city of angels
Life so calm like the wind in the night sky
this sound:       faint                               machine-                               washablet      b    w u      l      e     m     e     e
There's so much potential in a box of envelopes  So much power in monogrammed paper and a ballpoint pen  They're worth so much more than $13.99 at Office Depot in the end 
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil." (Psalm 23:4)
Hated onAnd beat uponBecause the way they live Is "wrong" Who are you to take the role Go and take another's soul
Initially I was a Marketing Major Set up to learn in the prestigious Isenberg School of Management Where I would become an aspiring businesswoman Where I would first change physically
They say the best writers write what they know, But lately I’ve been losing my mental going off my rocker all existential. I’ve been going off on points of tangency trying to crack the code that’s right in front of me.  
Sometimes words fall from my mouth like a waterfall into river, rippling from letters into waves of sentences forming long lines of poetry that carry through banks and across deltas, a never ending string of love letters that will someday reach y
We learn what we are taught. We use crayons to draw up a life that’s already been planned in permanent ink. But we still try.
When I was a little boy
[At the time that I performed this piece, it was the morning of the last performance of my high school career, and the end of the run of our production of ‘
Tell me something  sweet because I need to hear it.   let me paint you in the deepest shades of blue and purple,   from the bruises I have earned.      
To be recognized One must have something to be recognized forAnd I, Well, I have nothingI have the world to walk uponBut it is not mine 
It starts with a push, the decisive push on the enter key to explain t
Some people don’t know that there is a pain that never ends.
Don’t look at me like you expect something great. I’m tired of being called perfect. I’m tired of pretending your right. I am not perfect.   And don’t you dare tell me otherwise, Because I despise
I have heard it said That our souls have feathers. I don’t know whether this is true But I-   I am a magpie.   A collector Of the ornate The obscure The outdated
The stylus I grip in my palm is a stylist. I can create tears of joy, as I can create tears of pain. A grin, or a sharp smirk on another person's face.
My brother Make your legacy live in history The past of segregation lingers onto our present communities, And its comedy is somehow becoming our young brothers and sisters you see..
Say it to me again, I dare you. At first it was nothing. A black hole- Empty, no meaning. But, you feed it so much. It grows, being filled: filled with anger, tearing souls.
America. Home of the brave, Land of the free. But it seems we hide behind the walls of our homes every day. Yet our homes were built from the ground that’s supposed to let us be, Free.
Remember that September embrace where I dug my nails into your back and planted roots right into your ribcage? The oxygen you breathed was oxygen for me and kept my roots buried, kept my mood merry,
Asians can't drive, and Mexicans make trouble. You will get shot by a black man who will rob your home and steal your vehicle. All Mexican immigrants are illegal. Asians can't speak English to save their pathetic little lives.
For the "I Am... Scholarship Slam."   We write, we hide, we live our lives in coffee shops, sippin' tea from little mugs, stains on our teeth, contemplating the meaning of life.  
We're just watching time pass  Sitting around Being clowns Playing with the rules When we're all bound To do great So why wait? Why sit around & contemplate on our already planned-out fate?
You tell me I should talk to you That I should feel comfortable telling you things But I don’t Because every part of me every part of my gender every part of my being Isn’t safe here
He says he's replacing the Confederate Flag on his desktop With a picture of Me. I proceed to wonder if I should explain the irony of this, Or let him roll over comfortably in his quilted ignorance.
Whether he did the crime or not His body deserves and chance to rot From normal decomposition Not from flames he was repeatedly dipped in Not from a angry mob fueled with more fiery hatred than a forest fire
Here we are Here we stand We are living out God's own plan We are the children of the dream I don't need another new year to start a change I am a change
I love looking into a person's eyes because no matter what they wear, be it a mask or a disguise they can never hide what they are truly feeling.
I self deprecate because I can't appreciate what I have who I am that I'm alive Uncle Walt said it best that you are here that life exists and the powerful play goes on
Try being a woman - video poem.
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