She Reminds Me

She most definitely reminds me of home      
familiar in nature and urban culture      
a cascading smile large like the sunrise      
golden rays gleaming on pavements,      
trees, and across entire city blocks      
      
She reminds me of long summertime walks      
early Saturdays treks from eastern parkway      
down Utica avenue towards kings plaza      
ignoring all the commotion and dramatic      
events unfolding in cinematic points of view      
     
She reminds me of  
Brooklyn brownstones      
beautiful, elegant
grandiose chocolate facades        
long striding legs, thick and  
solid like brownstone steps      
imagine crop tops and
Patten leather short skirts
Afro puffs and  
purple neon roller skates  
cherry flavored lollipops  
and watermellon
Now N Later  
 
sporting arms and  
hands as wide as  
Ebbets Field
Brooklyn Dodgers catcher's mitt
she holds on and  
never lets you go.  
     
She reminds me of  
downtown's Albee Square Mall      
We get fly and stunt on em
acting brand new like we own the joint      
can't nobody step to us and  
cause no fuss because they know  
they'll get bum rushed      
confidence with a sly attitude
 
her persona is figuratively  
Crooklyn type rude      
she's a real one
never flinching like down ass women
living in Brooklyn public housing and
city shelters
single family houses
and  
tenement buildings   
 
She's black art,  
music
dance
story telling
fashion
food and entertainment
she's culturally nourishing and  
thriving      
 
She's Fulton Street fly
with an Atlantic Ave  
hustlers mentality and  
Bed Stuy's hood flair
speaks with a Redhook's slang
acts boujee like she got  
Park Slope and  
Brooklyn Heights money
hot like Crown Heights
spicy hot Flatbush  
Caribbean island flavors
with Clinton Hills and  
Fort Greene native son  
African American experience
 
Fun like Coney Island
gets wet like Canarsie
a Brownsville fighter
tough like Marine Park
one minute tho!
she can be grimy
like a lurking ass East New Yorker
and act Sheepshead Bay  
conceited the next  
speaks bilingual like  
Williamsburg and Bushwick
she's got the gift of gab
and got game like a motherfucker      
 
Familiar like corner store bodega's  
Chinese takeout and liquor joints
forty ounces and hoagie sandwiches      
got me yelling at the top of my lungs
yo yo yo my nigga pass me the blunt.      
     
She reminds me of sheepskin coats  
with boots, gloves and hat to match      
city pools and block parties
cookouts in the park and  
labor day carnivals      
she leaves lasting impressions  
like late night basement sessions
backyard bashments
high school hooky parties
summer flings
and rent parties      
refreshing like free  
Wingate Park Concerts
and open fire hydrants
on sweltering summer days  
 
She's an old black soul  
gentrified and  
rebranded for modern times      
and even though  
her new garments  
are fifth avenue yuppie themed
underneath it all and  
inside out  
she'll always remind me of home.