Precious Things 🍬
Photo via Unsplash.
Look at these outstretched hands!
Most of the time they seem great
They can create, elevate, and devastate
Create masterpieces that most of you see
Elevate peers, create ideas, conquer fears,
Eliminate years and Sabotage careers
Since I was 9 I have wondered if anything happened to them
You see this story is set in The Bronx
Allerton Ave at the CVS store
was too shy to ask my mother to buy candy
I was forewarned
“Don’t ask cuz I can’t get it”
So sneakily as we stood at the counter,
I looked to the side and around her.
Quickly snuck a jolly rancher or halls candy into in my pocket
How proud of myself I was of how I got it
Felt like a spy who was extremely accomplished
On the walk home, I messed up
Couldn’t hold my excitement
Found myself opening the candy with such delightment
My cheeks grew in with every step
Until I heard my Mother take a breathe
Que tu ase? What’s that? Where did you get that?
The fear draped over my heart like a sabana on a Saturday movie night
Eyes began to water and body was filled with fright
Mother’s eyes burned a blaze I had never seen before.
Then again I was warned. You better tell me before we walk through that door.
Quickly I lied and said I had this already
You sure? Your voice didn't seem steady
Plus I see the price tag, Let me know when you have the truth ready
Damn that CVS logo, I just knew she gonna dry snitch to my pops
Wondered what is gonna happen now
See my parents didn’t live together prior to this.
Just so happens he moved in and wanted to assert his dominance
I go to the room as she speaks to him. Immediately My Full Name is called
So of course I’m in trouble
I figured he would give me a tussle
Feathers would have been ruffled
This was different, he seemed mellow starts talking to me about right and wrong
Pacing back and forth in a pattern similar to a song.
Then he stops and that same blaze caught his eyes
You see the kitchen was to his back and it seemed like his mind had attached
To this weird idea, just as he was about to attack
He grabs me by the wrist, and turns on the stove
I didn’t touch the loaves
I wasn’t picketing hate speech in droves
I just stole a 75 cent candy
No I was about to be scarred for life
Similar to my Taino ancestors who chose to fight
their enslavers, those who
Chopped off their hands
Now mine are so close to the flames
Pulling and tugging, what was his aim?
I beg and plead, as I feel the heat
Lets me go and I collapse into my seat
Maybe that’s why they sweat when I step on a stage
Or become anxious when I read from my page
The lesson was to teach me not to steal
Really it taught me to keep my true feelings concealed
From those who were to protect me.
You see
Most of the time they seem great
They can create masterpieces, elevate peers, and devastate careers
Since I was a child I have used them to conquer fears
Look at these outstretched hands, these precious things
