please note: t/w: violence
-
dear mister life-changer
how have you been?
i know you never answer
but i wanted to try again
introducing myself for the fourth time
i'm a small girl with big dreams
my dad walked out when i was real young
my mum hopes i'll have an easier living
i'm in kensington, philly
it's not a nice place to grow up
with drugs, gangs, and guns
my older brother once even got mugged
i'm writing from my little closet
my mum said it's for me to be safe
but i hate being alone in this place
it's such a small, empty space
a couple of gunshots outside
it's like this every other night
brother's not home right now
but i sure hope that he's alright
there's a clicking noise
it doesn't sound very nice
i hear footsteps down the hall
they're not mum's, they're too light
mister life-changer, i think that might be my brother
he told me you could make things right
but why don't you ever write back to me?
why don't you ever reply?
i want to tell you my dreams
i heard you can make them come true
just give me one chance, sir
it's worth it, i'll show you
i dream of a big wide world
where i can walk outside and not be afraid
a world big enough for every little brown girl
to skip down sidewalks and enjoy the day
i hope to move to the suburbs
buy a big house for mum one day
buy her leather bags and pretty dresses
and not a single cent she'll have to pay
-
dear mister life-changer
i'm sorry there's blood on this paper
mum's bleeding out in the kitchen
someone shot her at the counter
mister life-changer
they told me to wait
i called the life-savers
they said, just wait
i don't know what to do
so now i'm back to writing to you
will you ever make a change?
will you tell me to wait, t—
wrote this poem that's a bit like a letter. context: a little girl living in kensington, philly, one of the most dangerous places in philadelphia, writes a letter to the congressional representative of her district. it's cut off at the end, and if i could, i would have added the sound effect of a loud gunshot. i think you would then understand how the story in this poem ends...
