The Ghetto Nerd Poem by Kondwani Simwaba

The Ghetto Nerd
Am from a place of broken hopes and broken dreams, a place of dreams neglected but most deferred.
Am from a place where not much could be expected from youths because books ain't never been our friends, we take advice from them fiends.
Am from a place where prostitution and robbery is no surprise; a place where just completing junior high school is a great milestone, college grads are basically Angels.
I am from a place where they said we wasn't gonna make anything out of our dreams, success was but Freddie's best friend we basically lived on Elm street, I reckon that explains why we feared it so much.
I am from a place where we were never taught of the power of a book and those that read were super humans; in this place I buried myself in a book or two and even though we had no dime to visit places, I swear them books took me around the world and I learnt from that place to share with my friends; I swear I made schools for them.
I am from the Ghetto, Chongwe been my birth place; Chawama my first school enrollment, Kuku I tored my shorts on the Lime, I recall memories from Lime, Misisi with them dams, John Laing practically raised me, Chibolya was my neighbourhood and yo Kanayama almost made me a professional footballer.
Momma said I should always be the smartest in the room and Daddy showed me how to be a man, I recall when he chased off robbers; we called the cops they are still looking for our house hitherto.
Thank God for private school, I learnt to be a little different but I swear every soul I used to know back then doing bigger things, to them I am super proud; who wouldda thought I'd grow to study Law and flirt with my pen to kiss the paper in ways in which they would one day call me a King, but let it be known that I remain The Ghetto Nerd and this tape is basically my bleeding soul for y'all to witness what makes my blood a little dense from the rest.
#RhapsodyArt
#KingTMC*