k&m open 24/7
my guy amir shouts, my queen!
every time i walk in
i want this
level of fanfare
everywhere
i go
my parents left brooklyn
with two baby boys
because bullets flew through
their first floor window
in the building next to
the one i now live in
what matters is
how you remember it
they don’t understand why
i’d move back
to the block they left
years past
i don’t see anyone except
my elderly neighbor and his dog
outside every day
around five
throw out trash
talk news
shake head
weeks pass
from should be over soon
to when will it end?
dad says the neighborhood hasn’t changed
pharmacy’s still there
high rise on linden says
i’ll be priced out in two years
mom says
there was no bullet
what matters is
neighborhood kids
playing handball on
how you
remember
the wall outside
their first floor flat
it was a ball
that flew through
years passed
maybe months
since i seen my guy
i work days now, he tells me
i only leave the house at night
we chop it up through
new strains and plexiglass
i am afraid of everything
he says, allah is my mask
i want that level of faith
everywhere i go
Felice Belle’s debut collection 'Viscera' (Etruscan Press, 2023) is quirky, accessible, pop-culture obsessed poetry for fans of 90 Day Fiancé and Ntozake Shange. As a poet and playwright, she has performed at the Apollo Theater, Joe’s Pub, TEDWomen, and TEDCity2.0. Felice is a lecturer in the low-residency MFA program at St. Francis College and Artists Network Director for the global nonprofit Narrative 4.
She lives in Brooklyn, NY and spends her free time solving fictional crimes.
