Poetry Battle of (All) the Sexes

by Staff Writer

Po' poets and spoken word artists, heavy weights and light weights, undefeated champs and first time performers alike all entered the ring this Valentines Day at POOR Magazine's first annual Poetry Battle of (All) the Sexes. The event, which took place at the Beat Museum in North Beach, was filled with amazing flowetry, spoken word art and poetry.

Thanks to all those who made it a huge success, including ring announcer Jack Hirschman, judges Al Robles, Genny Lim, Paris Alexander and Ananda Esteva, Tony Robles, the Beat Museum, POORPresschefs Amanda Smiles and Joanna Letz, Ace Robles for the beautiful belts and many, many more! As well thanks to all those who attended and helped a very poor POOR Magazine raise some much needed funds!!!

The BIG winners of the night were!

Champion: Queenanndi

2nd place: Leroy Moore

3rd place: Monk

Each winner was awarded a cash prize, handmade champion’s belt and will have a piece published in the Bay Guardian, as well as on POOR Magazine.

Please stay tuned for more revolutionary art and poetry events from POOR Magazine. And, read on for the winner's pieces and more.

Love and hate

by Queenanndi

Love & Hate

I’m about to commentate

Hate is comin’ to tha ring, weighing in at an unknown amount of pounds

Ready to bring on destruction and pain

Puttin’ the little kids out of their homes

Creating victims out of the elderly, addicted to bein’ insane

Oooh, and hate starts frivolous wars

Our childrens’ blood is shedded

While hate’s kids become pampered and spoiled

The hate record looks undefeated, but lovez comin’ to tha ring

Look, now hate done ran and retreated

Love got hate on tha ropes- Bam! Bow! Bam! Bing!

Love IS comin’ wit body blows, and hate can’t block a thing

Now love comes wit an uppercut- Bam!

Put the families back in their homes

Boom! Enough criticizing and criminalizing the poor

Bow! Return tha souljahs and end the war

Now! It’s justice for all- Bam! Boom! Pow!

Cuz hate just got knocked out!

Dreamin’ (of a king)

I would take all the stars out the sky for you

There’s nothin’ in this world that I wouldn’t do…

Yo’ my heart, baby our bond is strong

I know you ain’t gone leave me here to rule alone

Many journeys have been traveled and conquered

But when I feel yo’ Kingman hands that’s my energys’ comfort

I’m digging you man our hearts are on the same level

Make me go to hell and come back wit the head of tha devil

Fo’ so long I’ve felt ya- sorry that I strayed from your powers

Attuned our minds soul connects last longer than flowers

The World Is Ours

Maybe not in ways but in spirit

Go to the other end of earth-now shout!

You know I’m gone hear it

My Baby, sweet as Billy Shears, wiped away my tears n’ fears

For you I’m goin’ five Phantoms down

And comin’ right back up wit yo’ crown- on a platinum dish

If I had one wish

You’d be in tha crowd, feeling and hearing my heart pounding loud

Step to me daddy

I want that kiss from tha king-

But soon as our lips touched- Damn! I woke up from tha dream

QUEENNANDI 08

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

by Leroy Moore

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

Look at me, look at me

Hear this, hear this

I’ve learned from Heyward’s Porgy

Play on your pity

Just to get that money

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

You’ll do me like you did bang, bang Margarett L. Mitchell

I’m an open swore in the BLACK community

Cup in hand

Leaning against the wall

Passersby don’t want to understand

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

Gave my body to the US Army

Got shot by the LAPD

But you can’t get red of me

Mainstream think I’m too angry

My own people don’t even notice me

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

My spoken word, you can’t handle

You think I’m too radical

Black sisters don’t know what they are missing

My BLACK CRIPPLE body is always erect

Mind masturbation but she can’t deal with the situation

Educated and motivated

Now people are intimidated

I’m the incarcerated BLACK CRIPPLE

Lock down

Lock out

Walking on death row

The State has lost my file

SSI, SSDI and GA

In my pocket is Uncle Sam’s dirty hands

I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

Rocking your cradle

Yeah, I know what I want but you’re too goddam fickle

Hell yeah, I’m the BLACK CRIPPLE

No, no, no

I’m the PROUD BLACK CRIPPLE

No, no, no

I’m the LOUD PROUD BLACK CRIPPLE

No, no, no

I’m the ANGRY LOUD PROUD BLACK CRIPPLE

No, no, no

I’m the SEXY ANGRY LOUD PROUD BLACK CRIPPLE

Yeah! Yeah! Hell Yeah!

More love poems spit at the battle

Aint got no love for the State

by tiny

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Will I ever

be free

Can I get a
D-I-V-O-R-C-E

So he’ll stop

abusing me

You see My man is the state

And It all started when we went out on a date

Naw, it actually began many years ago when I was homeless chyle

It was like incest and the abuse was steady and full of lies

But the state was pimping me and I couldn’t get free

criminalizing po folks like me with impunity

but hey I tried to relate

looking beyond all the hate

that’s why me and the state went out on a date

but it went from good to bad fast

when it came to the check

I tried to pay with food stamps , my ebt card and an ssi check

He called me a cheap whore said I was just playing him for a sucker

I said
he was a just an abusive lover

As I reflect I know he was never looking for a soul mate

In fact, i was just another poor mama he could incarcerate

He never tried to see my culture , my spirit , my soul..

But rather he was only on the take

Coming at me with labels of greed, food stamp fraud , child abuse and lies about my fate

He could never relate

He never accepted responsibility for 500 hundred years of repression, colonization, sterilization and hate

So I wrote him a letter- asking for
Some alimony, reparations
and if nothing else

A rebate

He didn’t respond

So I am asking for a

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

We’re through

–no mo

I’ll make my own estate

My own land free from hate

With love and language and culture,no incarceration and manufactured hate

D-I-V=O=R=C=E –

its over

I am finally free

CALLOUS CUSTODY CORRUPTION

(For all single moms that lose their children to court corruption)

BY MARLON CRUMP

I told you, your honor, you devil in a pitch black gown, that I had no time to prepare for this hearing, but you're not hearing me. What I say to you goes out one ear, and quickly out the other:

What kind of a monster are you to callously decide my child's fate, because you say your rule is great?! You just can't give my son to animals like you, by separating him from his sister, or my daughter from her brother!:

You just can't keep ripping my life or their lives away, because your everyday life is the cold color grey. Am I responsible for your refusal to have, and love children of your own?:

That must be your plan, isn't it? You want to rely on Child Protective Services, asshole attorneys, faulty foster care homes, or the police to fulfill your needs, from the time my seed is hatched from my body, until their old enough to be institutionalized by the system, when they're fully grown:

But I got a big plan for you, oh yes indeed, lord, yes I do, indeed. You see, I can only be a one-man Rambo-like soldier equipped with a keen mind, pen and paper, and a bleeding heart, to be valiantly fighting your own demon squad, of this fight so long:
While you keep doing what you're doing to me to other single mothers, everyday, then go home to enjoy a hearty meal, and enjoying Satan's song; I will make you sing to a different tune when we march into your court, in a massive crowd, reminding you how you did us so horribly wrong, then send you back to the bottomless black pit where you truly belong:

A LAWYER TOO HEATED FOR A DEGREE

BY MARLON CRUMP

The word "lawyer" rhymes with liar, every law has a flaw, and it's illusion is a poor person's mental confusion:

I'm not having it, though, for I know myself, my life, and love for my Gifted by God abilities. The power of my mind, my courage, my pen, and my heart equals you into a mortal contusion:

I can cross-examine you, into the abyss of your glorified lies, and represent myself in the court of flaws, by not even uttering a sound from my very own lips. I can dance with you from dusk till dawn, with the truth of argument(s) in front of the judge and jury:

You see, your clients that wear blue that ever so often slew, foolishly assumed that after their warrantless entry into my world, that this was the end of that movie, but I followed up as a motion-pictured, rated R sequel young black man, with a feature film presentation of impossible intelligence, and indestructible fury:

I educated you on how quickly I can obtain knowledge, in just a few short weary years of little resource, to clash with you, while you spent light years of tax payer's hard earned dollars to create weak lies, but not fully prepared of what I can do:

You was certain that the ball was in your court, thinking we would battle at the state level, but I jumped up in the air and stuck my tongue out at you like Jordan, then told you, "No, we're going federal." Your jaws dropped like a whore to her knees, but I made you kneel:

I hope you are lame enough believe that it is all over with, due to mere technicalities. When that mail carrier comes, I want you to open that big brown sealed envelope, and take out that thick wad of white papers, titled: COURT OF APPEAL: