Ghetto Esteem
Let's workshop this poem!
Ghetto Esteem
Her sordid activities were reactions
to the burden of being
pedestaled, poverty-person
tantrums to prove him wrong
for lavishing her with affection—
but, while old enough
to trust when someone
insists upon their unworthiness,
he loved her enough to wait.
*This poem is unpublished
Photo: jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/a-south-side-chicago-ghetto-mother-and-child-who-live-in-nearby-low-income-d1b4ea