These poems are published here connected to the partnership between the Mid-Atlantic Review and Howard University and a recent event for the Howard community.
Where I’m From
The smell of baked bread
from the local Hispanics
overwhelm me. Every street
has a bodega, each waiting
to welcome you inside, gifting
a bacon egg and cheese.
Art speaks bold and bright
along the streets, elders
by the precinct, telling
their stories to one another,
children running home, or
running for the train, while
you can hear it rumble away.
Graffiti-stained walls tell
thousands of tales—a fusion
of cultures—every block claims
its story.
Life is Often Like This
A little boy holds a baguette. It makes him happy.
A man plays a flute. Cows follow his music.
Two ladies and a man dance.
A man drives. A bent lamppost appears.
An alien meets an astronaut.
A woman wears high heels. One heel has a wheel.
A sign reads Dream. A car is stuck in the bushes.
A monkey with glasses reads Origin of Species.
A man with super-human strength lifts a car.
A group of black men in white cloaks prepare.
A white man on a bike drinks from a bottle.
A man dressed in a suit sits on a yellow couch with a bee.
A dog pushes books off a shelf and lies there.
A girl sits by a firepit with her parents on Christmas morning.
A man offers a pizza to a woman and her daughter.
Male office workers in suits fly like fish.
The Statue of Liberty is submerged in water.
Native Americans point off into the distance.
A body floats in the Hudson River.
Adriana M. Moore is an undeclared freshman at Howard University from Bronx, New York. Her career goal is to graduate with a nursing degree and become a pediatric travel nurse who travels the world and creates a sustainable life while helping others in need. Her interest in poetry blossomed when she attended the Howard/Day Eight workshop, which helped her realize writing poetry was not that bad and actually was quite fun.
Featured image this post is, “Upstate Bodega in Downtown Troy” by Tyler McNeil, license via creative commons, wikimedia commons.
