Three Strikes
by Whitney Graham
And the memories won't go away,
And the memories won't go away,
And the memories won't go away
The U.S. wants to rid herself of her past
by laying it to waste
He lies down again tonight in the frozen section
We can't have him wandering around here,
his stench travels
Reminds people he needs to go elsewhere/ Reminds people he
needs to go somewhere/ Reminds people he needs a way to go /
Reminds people he needed to go a long time ago /Reminds people
they tried to get rid of him a long time ago
Starving men make you remember that there’s something lacking,
or that you have too much
I need to go to Riker’s Island!
He means I need to go home
If they don't kick ‘em out into the street,
they contain ‘em in wards or jails
The sound of pounding knuckles against glass
windows which never crack, travels
Starving men make you remember that there’s something lacking,
yet you never dare look inside
He needs to go back to Riker’s Island
They tell him he needs to get “healthy” first--
What is the cost of healthy these days?
If they don't contain ‘em in wards or jails,
they kill ‘em
Bloody body outlined on concrete is the new Black
If he comes again tonight he might see stars
at the wrong time
anytime is the wrong time when you carry midnight on your skin
He might see stars,
He might see Heaven
If he can’t be here, let him go somewhere they don't remember
‘cause they never been
Dying men make you remember that there’s something lacking
Listen to the poem here
And the memories won't go away,
And the memories won't go away
The U.S. wants to rid herself of her past
by laying it to waste
He lies down again tonight in the frozen section
We can't have him wandering around here,
his stench travels
Reminds people he needs to go elsewhere/ Reminds people he
needs to go somewhere/ Reminds people he needs a way to go /
Reminds people he needed to go a long time ago /Reminds people
they tried to get rid of him a long time ago
Starving men make you remember that there’s something lacking,
or that you have too much
I need to go to Riker’s Island!
He means I need to go home
If they don't kick ‘em out into the street,
they contain ‘em in wards or jails
The sound of pounding knuckles against glass
windows which never crack, travels
Starving men make you remember that there’s something lacking,
yet you never dare look inside
He needs to go back to Riker’s Island
They tell him he needs to get “healthy” first--
What is the cost of healthy these days?
If they don't contain ‘em in wards or jails,
they kill ‘em
Bloody body outlined on concrete is the new Black
If he comes again tonight he might see stars
at the wrong time
anytime is the wrong time when you carry midnight on your skin
He might see stars,
He might see Heaven
If he can’t be here, let him go somewhere they don't remember
‘cause they never been
Dying men make you remember that there’s something lacking
Listen to the poem here
 | Whitney Graham is a Master’s of Education candidate at Hunter College studying Adolsecent Special Education. She graduated from NYU in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in English and American Literature. Her poetry has been published in October Hill Magazine, Hope IRL, and Crab Creek Review. She was born and raised in south Florida, and currently lives in Bronx, New York where she teaches. |