Poetry By Abel Castillo

Once Upon A Time I Was 5
By Abel Castillo

Once upon a time I was 5
Didn’t really know how to read
Or how to write
I remember going to school
And I would cry
With my lunchbox in hand
A sandwich with cheese and ham
To me it seemed
Like a faraway land
I would wipe my tears
And stare at the clock
More than I would my own teacher
Who would talk a lot
I just wanted to go home
And jump in my mother’s arms
The only place my heartbeat would stay calm
But the world didn’t care
That’s why I got it in my palm

Time On Top of Miles
By Abel Castillo

I wasn’t born like this
I dived into this
No guidance I ran the streets
Where I smoked my first joint and felt bliss
Pissed
School wasn’t cool I didn’t understand
What it meant to improve I thought
Committing crime was the thing to do
Which caused mom and dad
A lot of sleepless nights
Probably
Tryna figure out what to do? I was
Angry, lost, and out of control
Not knowing
That one day I would do time
For obeying a secret code that secretly
Inspired me to drop out of school
And hit the road five finger discounts
And writing graffiti on the walls
Was my form of therapy and saying
Fuck the law
Where did mom and dad go wrong
Cause I wasn’t born like this
Now I’m doing time on top of miles
Forgetting how my family looks
When they smile
All for hitting the road at the wrong time
When I should have been inside
Elevating my mind
Reading books and figuring out ways how to rise
Out the 9
Cause where I’m from it’s hard to get above
Underneath the stars I use to pray for love
Instead, I got time on top of miles
Away from it all