Poet of the Week: Naomi Extra

We Was Good
When Sandy hit I was sittin’ up in
my apartment comfortable
& shit cuz my moms went shoppin’
the day before. She took us all, like
me and my cousins and my whole family
in the Jeep. We went to the Costco and we
got food for like a month. We had so much food
we gave some away to people in our
building. For real. We didn’t lose
electricity or nothin.’ That shit hit the
rich people in Jersey and Manhattan.
That’s what they get. Nah,
in the projects we was good. We had
electricity. Everything.
My Uncle Frankie, he was stayin’
With us too so we
had a good time.
Imma be barber just like him,
paid.
I don’t need to write no cover letter. I wont
ever be asking nobody for a job.
Imma work
for myself. I aint neva gonna be
no one’s assistant. That aint me.
Shoot,
I’m middle class.
Published in the Paterson Literary Review