When the Grass is No Longer Green...

New Crisis, The, Sep/Oct 2000 by Tyree, Omar

... the sun cannot reflect and shine upward.

The dirt looks extra hard and plenty thirsty

And little boys and girls run inside

with blood gushing from their knees from bottle cuts

instead of grass burns that can be washed away

and kissed.

...the trash decorates the streets and sidewalks

with steel gates and wired fences that intimidate,

distracting clear vision on even sunny days,

and claiming to protect its tenants

from bad, outside influences

while locking in the good ones who dream America.

...little girls pick up babies instead of lilies

and daisies,

while their boyfriends pick up rocks,

sticks, bats, knives and guns.

But seldom do they pick up their babies.

Maybe babies are too heavy to hold, like jobs.

... Mickey Ds, BKs, TBs, KFCs and Wendy's

are the cleanest and brightest things standing.

Or at least

on the outside.

Because the insides often need sanitation.

Including the attitude of some who work there.

...those who have checks may cash them

for a fee,

not to hold and collect dividends,

but to spend at the next corner

on their favorite friends and pastimes

instead of saving for a better day.

... neighborhood fights become entertainment

paid not with golden belts and million-dollar

contracts, but with death

and deep scars that stop you from running,

while mothers cry and wear old dresses

to new Churches for their sons' funerals.

...powerless officials offer band-aids

for solutions

instead of signing budgets to uproot the soil

and fertilize the land for grass that grows

and shines

which may take for generations.

But

...no one living there has time

to wait.

Because Yesterday barely made it.

Today is holding on by a string.

And Tomorrow is forever breaking promises.

Omar Tyree, a native of Philadelphia, is an author, journalist, lecturer, and poet. This poem was published in the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Book of Poetry (1999), The Spirit in the Words.