Illustration by Gisela Levy
first and foremost
please don’t ever misconstrue me
this poem is not stray away
but to navigate
into a truer me
imma spoken poet truthfully and usually i tell the truth,
but you see from my youth, i learned that my pain was a blessing
never conquered the sunshine, so often used my rain as a weapon
my tears would stain through my confessions
and my fears would frame my adolescence
but, my journey was seeded into a region where only truth can see it
started with 2 dreams,
sailed the waters from Mali to Harlem to accomplish three things
raise two queens
and one king
reign supreme
but, still Allah fearing
mashaallah i’m blessed to be one of Allah’s children
gave me the rhythm to manifest a vision
i been told that I been a boss
Allah blesses the paper that i scribe my words across
i just hope that one day before i meet the most Divine
i’m intertwined
and defined
in the thoughts of all minds
create eternal tidal waves
and watch my metaphors rise
and fall
through the test of time.
Mamadou Yattassaye is a second year Columbia College student studying creative writing with a pre-nursing track. He aspires to be a nurse practitioner but also is pursuing his poetry and music as well.
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