Rooftop Poetry Club - LaKeshia Ross

LaKeshia Ross

Bio:
-Born and raised in a small rural town in the state of Alabama, Presently living in the City of Buffalo
-Mother of a precious eight year old girl who also loves writing poetry and short stories
-I have worked for Hospice Buffalo for the last eight years
-Recently graduated from Erie Community College where many of my poems have been published in Images magazine
-Currently a full time student at Buffalo State College majoring in Secondary English Education
-Hobbies include reading, singing, traveling, writing, and working out

Poems:

Lead By Passion

My man is tall, skinny, yet round.
He dresses in bright yellow with black trim.
But, believe me he’s sharp.

I can tell him anything.
Silly things, important things, even the most devilish things.
He’s a part of my deepest thoughts.

He’s so in love with me.
He has a copy of my index finger.
He keeps close to his heart.

Throughout our relationship.
He’s endured hostile treatment.
He’s been bitten, sometimes even snapped in two.

Though many women will hold my man.
Knowing he’s never been a one woman man.
I don’t mind sharing my man.
Because when we kiss he leaves a smear.

Blue Eyes

As the summer sun beams down,

I take refuge under the pine tree,

Waiting for a breeze.

I study her skin, dark as night,

Soft as cotton, not a wrinkle,

Though she has weathered many storms.

Like the time she was refused treatment,

As a result she miscarried her first child.

I study her eyes,

Deep blue.

The rarest diamond.

Her eyes bare the sun’s reflection off the Ocean’s surface.

I am spellbound by their beauty,

Mesmerized by their ability to convey rage and fury.

Underneath the pine tree,

Feeling the soft summer breeze,

I study my grandma,

As she sweeps the dust off the front porch.

What Gives You The Right To Call Me Monster?
Inspired by the novel “Monster” By Walter Dean Myers

What gives you the right to call me monster?
Is it my style of dress?
The way I look, my hair?

What gives you the right to call me monster?
It is my economic status?
My education or whether or not my father was there?

What gives you the right to call me monster?
When you leave your perfect world to immerse yourself in mine.
A world filled with poverty, murder, and all types of crimes.

What gives you the right to call me monster?
Your world, your world to me is a myth.
A fabrication.
Something make believe.
Yet and still you have the option to separate your self.
You have the option to leave.

What gives you the right to call me monster?
Convicting me before you’ve heard the truth.
Corrupt cops
Government
Injustice
Prejudice
Hatred
Teenage pregnancy
No jobs
I could go all day if you want me to.

What gives you the right to call me monster?
This is America, Justice for all.
Convicting me, the prosecutor called me monster.
Innocent until proven guilty.
That must only work for ya’ll.

What gives you the right to call me monster?
We all should be shown respect, love, and compassion.
We all deserve a chance.
Looking into the mirror what do you see?
Sometime’s life’s situations will cause our vision to become a little blurry.

What gives you the right to call me monster?
You should be slow to react or to pass judgment.
In an instant your life could also change.
What if the shoe was on the other foot?

My first look into the mirror.
I never saw a monster, maybe a misguided soul.
When you looked into the mirror.
There were flashes of reflections.

A glimpse of you and me.
In our reflections I saw to people.
To people destine for greatness.
I’ll help you if you help me.