Street roots
Jan. 20, 2012
Write a page, I said.
Let it come out of you.
Then it will be true.
Broken
By Jason Wolf
By Debra Knauf
My world comes to a halt, I watch the rest of the world go by
It feels like a movie and I let out a deep sigh
I feel the insignificance of my existence wash over me
I know that I’m a minnow just trying to survive the sea
The weight on my shoulders is just too much to bear
So much so that I lose the ability to even remotely care
I know that I’ve hit a downward spiral
It’s not long before it becomes intensely viral
All I can do is wait for the storm to come to an end
So that when it’s over I can start to pick up the pieces and start to
mend
What do they think when they hear that,
this kaleidoscope of young faces before me?
They look at me — middle-aged white women —
And wonder if I’ll understand their truths.
Their truths are hard - inner city, gangs, drugs, poverty,
shootings and killings on street corners,
escape the champagne wish,
the diamond dream of their families.
I’ve seen their stories on the news but I haven’t lived them.
I m no stranger to poverty, but I’m white, white bread, white wine
- new grapes of wrath vintage.
Poor and white is not poor and black,
Poor and Asian, poor and Mexican.
They’re right: I won’t know their truths.
They don’t know mine either.
I could tell them that escape is possible —
But they won’t want to hear the rest of that truth
You can get out but you can’t leave behind who you are
Poverty is a bomb in the brain you’ll never diffuse
Diamond studs wink at me from their ears;
Their faces remain carefully blank
And our lives tick away.
I tell them we can meet on the page
But I don’t know if I believe it myself.
shosoxsa@gmail.com
Choices
By Valerie
There is no right or wrong
But everything has a choice
As the scars start to fade away
The heart within still frozen
Notice a patch of darkness
Getting bigger, soon no more
Nothing left besides the last beat
Hear it echo through the silence
Of the emptiness within
Thy soul soon to break
Screaming out for help
Check out Street
Roots Vendor
Sam Al-Jondi's
new book, "Code
of Conduct."
Al-Jondi writes
about his
experiences and offers a fresh
aerspective about the world we
ive in.
February 4,2012
/ / / a benefit for SISTERS O F THE ROAD
featuring:
T rac y G ram m er
Kate Pow er and
Steve Einhorn
Donna Lynn and
Terry Davis
Brooks Robertson
Tom M a y Trio
Lauren Sh eehan
Peter Yeates,
M ik e Beglen
an d B ob Soper
the
Theater
3 0 1 7 S E M ilw aukie Ave. Portland, Oregon
February 4 , 2 0 1 2
Doors at 6 :0 0 , Concert at 7 :0 0
Tickets: $ 2 8 in advance, $ 3 0 d a y o f show
G eneral Seating
The books can be purchased at the
Multnomah County Central Library
on SW 10th Ave., on Kindle,
Amazon, and for $10 through
Street Roots at 211 NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209.
Tickets available through Ticketmaster
or the Aladdin Box O ffice (5 0 3 -2 3 4 -9 6 9 4 )
gittiar
Win a W oodland Pro Folk Sunburst
guitar. See our website for more details!
http://sistersoftheroad.org/
SISTERS
OF THE
ROAD
good, local, food.
ALBERTA
COOPERATIVE
GROCERY
1500 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
503.287.4333
www.albertagrocery.coop
open to everyone 9-10 daily
X
K JL FOOD CO-OP
sy ■
good food, free classe:
r e a l c o m m u n ity
3029 SE 21st Aye , J
open 8a-10p c i a r f B
EBT accepted" 1