M’Shai S. Dash

Sun is mischievous in the ghetto

luring soft-legged girls

to the concrete money-hunt

where flashy cars roll

down the avenue slow

& every cherry ice pop is melting

on the sticky fingers

every little thing is

dripping and sweet

Because Sun makes everything ooze

Sun makes everyone sweat

But sweat is fashion in the ghetto

the cheapest fashion one can get

Glistening on collarbones and necks

Producing tendrils at the nape

Sun makes clothing kiss your skin

and melts all your

sharp corners round

 

Sun don’t care about your errands

Sun just craves to

bake you you brown

& strip you naked

& break you down

Some men are

naked to-the-waist

to catch each fleeting afternoon

revealing war ink

on smooth brown canvas

tattooed like the Zalimun

their salty droplets are offered to the

Porous asphalt

But the metal hoops do not stoop or smile

Hubals of the b-ball Court

Are quite familiar with Ra’s trials.