Three Stages of Lifetimes

The red brick row home 

Here the sun shines through the broken glass windows 

The silent cries of the rising yellow crescent sunsets 

The sounds still foreign to me 

Here is the row home 

Rebuilt 

Reborn

Three stages of lifetimes 

Three roads watching Dorthy walk by without her ruby slippers

Is there a place like home?

Blood of open wounds traveling down the wooden staircase

There’s no place like home 

Flying monkeys eating through the gas stove 

Gasoline smells throughout the house 

Bottles throughout the rooms 

The tinman may need a body 

Gasoline cans won’t hold him much longer 

Living room bare

The shine of the silver moon 

Brings spirits dancing around 

Like a ballroom 

The creaking of the floors has lost its fight 

This old row home won the game

The girl with the gapped tooth smiles 

Waiting on the porch clicking her ruby slippers 

Three times

Humming…

There’s no place like  Philly home

There’s no place like Philly home 

There’s no place like Philly home…

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Laniyah Emile attends Franklin Learning Center High School in Philadelphia, PA. She started writing poetry during the pandemic while the world was silent. She wrote loud and passionate words in her notebook during her free time, and those lovely moments paid off.