Where We Come From by Deonte Osayande

Suits steal
water, drink
incoming profits

while children
thirst for lead

and are met with more
bullets, the

impeachment proceeds

and the hood will
still be the hood

covering our
people in

poverty we've had
for so long, we don't

know the origins

Deonte Osayande is a writer from Detroit, MI. His nonfiction and poetry have been nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology, and the Pushcart Prize. He has represented Detroit at four National Poetry Slam competitions. He's currently a professor of English at Wayne County Community College. His books include Class (Urban Farmhouse Press, 2017), Circus (Brick Mantle Books, 2018) and Civilian (Urban Farmhouse Press, 2019). He also managed the Rustbelt Midwest Regional Poetry Slam and Festival for 2014 and 2018.