Anything
written by: Devereaux Frazier
@marylandpoet
Sunsets always jolt me awake
Bus rides to and from work begin to drain
Not my body, but my mind
The things I witness in half-time
Dimmed by Demi’s sultry tunes
Be still, my heart’s freaking out
It is, though, when I see the disease
the murder, and the mystery
That to me seems not just coincidence
But subplot in a world run by governments
Hellbent on guarding life from the living
And stringing death on a line for us to grasp
As if it’s something worth fighting for
The rich don’t get richer, the poor stay poor
Because everyone’s too numb to strive
And why try if you don’t know how
I can keep a secret, can you?
Politics are a prison if you close your eyes long
Keep them open and cardboard signs
Are glued to your hands, wrists, and forehead
Keep telling me that my vote matters
But another day, another dollar
Another black brother’s blood is splattered
There go the sirens, there go our fathers
Send my mama to the altar, empty handed
But ask for a tithe to keep your million
Dollar church intact, collections pushing back
I just don’t feel confident in me
I don’t feel confident in anyone realizing
Anything
His work is regularly featured on SpillWords.com, where he was nominated for the May Publication of the Month in 2017. You can also find him on Literary Arts Review and Teen Ink, the latter of which published him in their monthly magazine in 2016.
When he’s not working as an Active Seller at IKEA Baltimore, Devereaux can be found reading or interacting with readers on his various platforms, mainly WordPress and Instagram. Reaching new readers and connecting with poets and writers across the web is one of the reasons why he writes. There’s no use in writing if it can’t be shared to uplift and inspire.
- Galaxies - February 25, 2021
- Battlefields, Called My Heart - May 6, 2020
- Where Are You, Happiness? - December 2, 2019
