Her arms semaphore fat triangles,
Pudgy hands bunched on layered hips
Where bones idle under years of fatback
And lima beans.
Her jowls shiver in accusation
Of crimes clichéd by
Repetition. Her children, strangers
To childhood's toys, play
Best the games of darkened doorways,
Rooftop tag, and know the slick feel of
Other people's property.
Too fat to whore,
Too mad to work,
Searches her dreams for the
Lucky sign and walks bare-handed
Into a den of bereaucrats for
Her portion.
'They don't give me welfare.
I take it.'
Maya Angelou
Read more:
Alone - Poem By Maya Angelou
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Poem By Maya Angelou
Million Man March Poem - Poem By Maya Angelou
Phenomenal Woman - Poem by Maya Angelou
Refusal - Poem By Maya Angelou
Remembrance - Poem By Maya Angelou
Still I Rise - Poem by Maya Angelou
The Mothering Blackness - Poem By Maya Angelou
The Rock Cries Out to Us Today - Poem By Maya Angelou
Touched by an Angel - Poem By Maya Angelou
Pudgy hands bunched on layered hips
Where bones idle under years of fatback
And lima beans.
Her jowls shiver in accusation
Of crimes clichéd by
Repetition. Her children, strangers
To childhood's toys, play
Best the games of darkened doorways,
Rooftop tag, and know the slick feel of
Other people's property.
Too fat to whore,
Too mad to work,
Searches her dreams for the
Lucky sign and walks bare-handed
Into a den of bereaucrats for
Her portion.
'They don't give me welfare.
I take it.'
Maya Angelou
Alone - Poem By Maya Angelou
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Poem By Maya Angelou
Million Man March Poem - Poem By Maya Angelou
Phenomenal Woman - Poem by Maya Angelou
Refusal - Poem By Maya Angelou
Remembrance - Poem By Maya Angelou
Still I Rise - Poem by Maya Angelou
The Mothering Blackness - Poem By Maya Angelou
The Rock Cries Out to Us Today - Poem By Maya Angelou
Touched by an Angel - Poem By Maya Angelou