Da’Sheme Hosley

I hold onto my dreams

with all my might

They are fragile and sometimes so heavy

they are difficult to hold

But I keep my dreams in a box

next to a macaroni necklace

and sneakers that light up when you stomp

In a box with elementary school Valentine’s Day cards

and heart shaped lollipops

A box full of fragments of nostalgia and pieces of the me

that had 2 missing front teeth and wore puffy princess dresses

I keep my dreams away

Away from eyes

that might roll over it

Away from mouths

that might demean it

Out of anyone’s mind

Out of anybody’s sight

in fear that if someone saw

They’d scare it away

One laugh

One condescending look

and it would fade

But when I opened that box

And when I let my dreams breath

Sing its song

Speak its speech

Shine its light

It shined like no other

When I let my dreams bloom

they bloomed like hibiscus flowers mid summer

When I let my dreams shine

so did I

I shined louder than

any laugh could be

I shined sharper than any

piercing glance could be

I let my dreams shine so bright it blinds those who made it feel like a burden

It strains the eyes of those who sought to shrivel it’s wings

When my dream truly flies

When it loses its name

And is recalled as reality

It will make and break records

It will be the brightest of stars to those who respect it

the moon in pitch black sky to those who try to ignore

So I plug my ears to backlash

and focus my hearing on the song of my dream

On the calling of my future

Nobody can stop when

my dream takes flight