Poems

My Name Is Stop!

My name is Stop!

Do not harass me

I’m here to work

Not to start a family

I’m bombarded with suggestive gestures

Unwelcome requests and sexual innuendos

These forms of harassment

Are not fit for any environment

You are violating my rights

To security, and to privacy

Because everywhere I turn

You are following me

The pressure of being under your supervision

Is just too much to mention

There is also victimization

Having thwarted my promotion

I know my worth

Etched in my DNA since birth

So, I guard well my integrity

Refusing to trade my values for career mobility

To make matters worse

I have no internal recourse

Given the absence of protocol or policy

Though required by law for every entity

Thankfully, there is a Tribunal

To which I can make a referral

And I’m armed with clear evidence

To present my case with confidence

– Alia Vaz-Heaven

# # #

The sudden eclipse

The darkness came suddenly like a rushing wave.

I saw my friend venture too far into the darkness.

An angel stood by the door weeping and saying no,

but he still entered and the windows were sealed.

Shortly after, the door began to close slowly.

The watch on my hand began to tick so loud.

I felt many blades to my ears as I heard his voice.

He was here. Yes, he was, but he was no longer here.

I kept calling come out! come out! come back to me,

but it was already too late for the madness prevailed.

Sometimes society abuses our men with words.

What kind of man are you, seeking help?

Are you a punk or a girl?

Giving leftovers to dogs and not to our men truly hurts.

Not to mention how some women are treated on the street.

They are abused over and over, it’s a constant repeat.

When they are hungry, who can they turn to?

When their backs are against the wall, who will help them press on?

So many of our men and women are laying on the street.

We have houses, blankets, and the cold a beat.

Yet every night they slept on the street without sheets.

They were once someone’s little baby in hand.

Ever wonder what caused their ship to sink?

Do you ever think or care or do you share?

While eating your banana, do you remember the man with the skin?

How is your physical health, sleep, nutrition, exercise, and time management?

Do you consider your mental, social, financial, digital, and spiritual well-being?

Do you have a root system to help keep you grounded?

Men, women, boys, girls, I beg, I plea.

That no matter what the circumstance may be,

seek help and don’t enter that dark room.

There’s no good health without good mental health.

– Patree Gouldbourne-Haynes