Steel streets, stained shirts,
Sirens sang me to sleep.
Shots shattered silence —
a stray slice of steel kissed my elbow deep.
City smog thick in my chest,
Cracked knuckles, crooked breath,
Fists flew like flags for the lost,
Falling further from the rest.
But then came a call —
not from phones, not from friends,
But from a firelit forest
where forgiveness begins.
Still waters, silent warnings,
Snowmelt stung but saved that morning.
Sky stretched wide with whispered grace,
No sirens here — just sacred space.
God didn’t shout, He softly spoke:
“Go now… before your soul gets broke.”
That chill cut deep, but truth cut more —
That day I stepped through freedom’s door.
Mountain mist, mirror-clear streams,
Flesh froze fast, but I found dreams.
Brothers in the water, laughing loud,
Legends lost, but learning now.
No blocks, no beef, no broken glass,
Just branches bending, breezes that pass.
He told me tales, warned me wise,
Of colors, cuts, and closed casket cries.
“Choose, before you can’t,” he said,
“Pick your path before you’re dead.”
And as the sun sliced through the pines,
I saw the signs…
I read the lines.
Still waters, silent warnings,
Snowmelt stung but saved that morning.
Sky stretched wide with whispered grace,
No sirens here — just sacred space.
God didn’t shout, He softly spoke:
“Go now… before your soul gets broke.”
That chill cut deep, but truth cut more —
That day I stepped through freedom’s door.
I traded ghetto ghosts
for granite ground.
Gunfire faded.
Grace was found.
Felt frozen feet in holy streams,
Saw my sins drift down in gleams.
No badge, no pastor — just the breeze,
Just God…
and a whispered please.
Still waters, silent warnings,
Snowmelt scars became my dawning.
No smog, no steel, no streetlight lies,
Just mountain mercy in the skies.
He didn’t beg, He didn’t break —
Just gave me one clear breath to take.
That moment marked me — raw and right.
I walked away…
and lived that night.
Mario_Maldonado
