Hi my friends! I promised in this post, I would share the poem and process that goes with the philosophy I wrote about yesterday in What do you believe in so strongly that you’ll go to any length to defend it? AMA.

So in answer to Nancy Lyneé Woo’s question, I immediately wrote down “Ghetto Girls.” It was the only thing I wrote on what would normally be the topic-brainstorming part of the activity for me, because as soon as I conjured those words, I knew this was the topic I wanted to write about.

I then took my brainstorm in a different direction – a list of “are” and “are not” qualities. In “ARE,” I tried to put my own feelings and observations, my experience with other sisters who grew up poor and/or in “bad” areas, projects, etc. I said to myself, “What are the positive traits you get from being a “ghetto girl?” In “ARE NOT,” I just focused on a few things I considered the intersection of most prevalent and most important negativity surrounding the term “ghetto.” I’m putting the brainstorm list here, to show process and also hopefully inspire and empower some of you to write your own positive poems about growing up “ghetto.”

ARE –

• strong
• real
• have a personality
• know what’s up
• hardcore
• have boundaries and know how to keep you behind them!
• opinionated
• unafraid to speak
• not worried if you think they sound ignorant
• loyal
• stick together – a bitch better not mess w/ my sisters!

ARE NOT –

• Trash – white or any other color
• worthless
• stuck in the ghetto
• a stereotype

That last one in the “ARE NOT” brainstorm then inspired me to look for atypical concrete representations. The poem’s title is inspired by the 90’s hip hop I grew up with, where you twisted the spelling of anything you could grab onto!

Here’s the finished product of the poem (for now, although I feel like it will probably change a lot – maybe even birth another!). Enjoy, and if you have ghetto roots, celebrate!
 
Ghetto Girlz

alpaca wool –
just rough enough.
warm and gentle if you settle in.
And thick.

rubies –
‘cause who wants
a boring damn
white diamond.

silver –
so maybe it needs polish,
but at least
it’s natural.

fuscia nikes –
fun, but great
to get you the hell
out of there
when you need it.

Tupac –
‘cause they can jam
and also smell
bullshit a mile away.

Tell me it’s wrong to be real.