Fall In Love For Life

poem by: Q. Ramirez
Written on Apr 15, 2015 

        Fall In Love For Life
 (Ode to L. Hughes and Billie Holliday)

“ I fell in love with them there eyes…” -bop-bop-du-bee-bop-du-be-bop-bop

Here I is sitten at Downbeats
Waitin fo my fishfry ‘n jambalaya
Jammen to Lady Day an’ ol Satchmo

I looks around and sees
Famous afro-american faces decorate the walls
There’s Lady Day ‘n Madame Di ‘n ole Louie Armstrong
and I’s headstrong on being proud of my barrio

This is my hood

“ I fell in love with them there eyes…” -bop-bop-du-bee-bop-du-be-bop-bop

Looking outside through chicken-wired windows
See the brothas ‘n sistas on the back corner of KFC
You know , across the street is that motel run by Indians

Everyone has to hustle ‘round here
Scrappen ‘n turnin ‘n moven always
Stealthy punks ‘n tricks ‘n merchants
Doin their thang for whatever can be got
This liven is hard and it makes us stoic
We don’t like it but we live in it

This our B & B hood 

“ I fell in love with there them eyes…” -bop-bop-du-bee-bop-du-be-bop-bop

Crib here long enough and you get used to it and it to you
Then you begin to feel a sense of belonging 
If you belong here ‘n you’re lucky
Hustle up a good liven ‘n you’re doin alrighteous
If you ain’t then you get hustled for life - dig - for life

-bop-bop-du-bee-bop-du-be-bop-bop “…the boy with them wishful eyes”
-bop-bop-du-bee-bop-du-be-bop-bop

 

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