Buried Treasure Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Any mind confined,
Restricted over a period of time...
Diminishes.
Declines.

These are not those days,
One would sit to pick...
Wished,
Anywhere near their top ten list.
Dreams invested to make forward steps,
Have gone from that kind of mindset.

These are not those days,
When people displayed...
Their encouragement and support.
High expectations have been aborted.
And distorted as impossibilities.

Any mind confined,
Restricted over a period of time...
Diminishes.
Declines.

Hope and kept faith,
Has just about faded away from faces.
And on a daily basis,
Many are confronted...
With disturbing negative words.

'You look as if,
You have found a map to buried treasure.'

~I just want to keep my mind,
Focused on what keeps me happy.~

'I don't want to be the one to bust your bubble,
But, brutha...
You either on crack,
Or sumthin' else got your mind whacked out.
You in the wrong neighborhood,
For them kind of rainbows to find.'

~My mind is my treasure.
And I 'aint' gon' keep it buried.~

'So sad.
That's why these kids around here,
Are messed up.
It's people like you,
Trying to feed them false beliefs.'

~What about 'your' future? ~

'What does 'my' future got to do with it? '