stand

i stand
because a multitude
of ex-slaves
nursed my wounds
bandaged my head
as i lay in
catatonic blue.

the mind is
a lonely and complex
environment.

voices will collide
and fight
for a morsel of dominance.

(they ignore you and
fight each other over
your mind.)

laugh at the private hell-hole
and the public circus comes
blazing.

born to be a survivor
dating back
to a ship
where you were told
to forget your name…

(see
we’ve got this fortress
of hope built around us
doors chained
no matter what happens
we stand.)

By Jacquese Armstrong

Biography:

Jacquese Armstrong is a writer/poet residing in Central New Jersey. Her chapbook, dance of the shadows, is to be released in June. Her work has been previously published in GFT Presents: One in Four, For Harriet and Black Magnolias Literary Journal among others.