ILLITERACY TRAUMA

Illiteracy trauma 
Where those who were friends laughed at me 
Not even momma could ease the pain. 

Illiteracy trauma 
58 years old sitting in a college class? 
Still hearing the laughs from my 7th grade pass. 

Illiteracy trauma 
Raising my hand in a college class 
Happy to retain information at last 
Never realizing I Exceeded the ratio of question 
That one man should ask. 

Illiteracy trauma 
Sitting in a jail cell staring at a magazine 
While everyone else read books, papers, 
And articles written in magazines. 

Illiteracy trauma 
A safe place, called community; 
so they say? 
Where I share my Illiteracy pass. 
Suddenly I become the lesser 
Of an equal community because of my pass 

Illiteracy trauma 
Where my advice is overlooked 
Where my words have no meaning 
Where others feel less then 
If I get the answer before them 
Not so safe for the illiterate 

Illiteracy trauma 
Where we come to a prison and trust people they jest met 
With something as fragile as “I cannot read” 

Illiteracy trauma 
One day I’ll go to the Prison Board 
I must explain the lessons I retained 
While praying illiteracy do not block my brain. 
As I repeat my thoughts in my brain! 
My stuttering wards do not come out the Same 
I did not properly explain 

Denied! 
Will there ever be an understanding 
Of people who are attracted by their own brain. 

“The Place I Used to Be”