I didn’t find him ugly
we (he & I) found love
in the shakiest places.
(he) the little black boy from
Belize with braids
who knew Spanish like
close cousins.
we were the
. blackest niggas
on the planet
as told
by Keith, Francel, Jmo, even Jessi,
the self-proclaimed real pretty boy,
. who once said
. what’s the difference
. between a nigga
. and an apple?
. one swings
. much sexier.
our laughs bounced off
segregated rooms of black,
somehow he taught love & skin
were a fix link
for colored boys choking
a throat of rainbows
in the mirror.
Tyrek Greene is a poet & teacher based in the Bronx and Baltimore. In 2016, Greene became a VONA/Voices fellow and in 2017 his work was included in the House Divided showcase at Cooper Union. Now, spends his time leading poetry classes in schools around the Bronx. Poems include “Conversations with Water,” “Neo,” “On Anthropology,” “On Visit To Community Garden ‘Libertad Urban Farm’,” “vandalized,” “On Simpson Ave This Thursday,” and “On Sleeping with My Best Friend.” Find him at @myguyflyguyty.
