THE EASTSIDE BROKE MY HEART

I first fell in love, with crack smothered fish

off the crack infested streets of East Atlanta.

Them streets were cracked too, the road spotted with potholes.

I’m missing my dawgs,lost on a quick trip

across from QuikTrip,

I’ve seen steppers march from McAfee to Panthersville.

DOA for BOA,

Have you seen a scammer kill?

We lighting candles still,

On Candler still,

You abandoned the hood.

I thought I met my first love 

in the party room at Golden Glide.

She danced as if the world would end,

 and when the song ended, as did the world. 

She danced on him as the next began.

No art hangs on the walls at the Gallery of 

South Dekalb, my deserted morality died 

a miserable death there. A broken heart- 

redolent of cancer. Dog eat Dog World

We met at Gresham Park. 

I rendezvous with my reality

Decatur where it’s the greater good, 

the greatest hood. 

I never loved someone as I loved you

Until death do us part, from  

Moreland to Glenwood to Wesley Chapel. 

For you, I’ve shed my blood.

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The Eastside, the land East of Atlanta that spans eight exits on Interstate 20. From Moreland  to Wesley Chapel  Many argue what defines the Eastside but  Columbia Drive, Candler Road,Panola Road, Flat Shoals, and Wesley Chapel were where I’d come to find my love for my side of town. 

My grandfather stayed on Candler, and my mother and I would visit often. I always noticed the populous amounts of people walking the sidewalks and talking to themselves in Candlerfornia. I’d soon learn that these people were what we call “crackheads” or “junkies” or “J’s” for short. They never seemed all that bad to me. They just had no place to go. On that same street was J&J Fish and Chicken, where my cousin’s and friends liked to get fried fish and fries, but everyone just calls it JJ’s . We’d walk up to the register and recite our order like a mantra,, “Yea… um, can I get a numba’ fo with a large box of fries on the side? And make sure y’all put extra crack on my fish and my fries!” I still don’t know what the crack seasoning consists of, but once I ate a fry and another and another, I realized it’s called crack.

The weekends were a lot more fun once I got a little older. I had older cousins and some friends that would take me to Golden Glide, the famous skating rink on Wesley Chapel. From 7 to 11, if you were 13-17 years old, you could have the night of your life and maybe walk out with a girlfriend. Teen Night was the night where all the kids from various schools across the pothole-filled Dekalb County would meet up to grab a dance in Golden Glide’s's party room. As Sage The Gemini blasted through the speakers, I studied the people around me on how to dance with a girl successfully. I got lost in the crowd, before a siren’s hand pulled me through the sea of horny teenagers. A girl that looked two years older than me pressed me against the wall. From my studies, I discovered you either keep up or get left behind. The dancing unfurled me until I was completely unbound and free; I felt like nobody could touch me. Then, the song switched, and she switched partners along with it. She had no idea that she taught me that nothing lasts forever that night. 

After a night of fun, we’d leave through the glass doors and be greeted by some music from across the street. QuikTrip is a gas station and rest stop for most, but on the Eastside, if you’re out on the right night, it’s a club. We’d walk through the parking lot waiting on our rides before four pops put all of our laughter to sleep. They’d grow into screams. Outside the room where I just learned that nothing will ever remain, I watched a life end just as quickly.. 

The Eastside Broke My Heart. 

I lost my first fight at Gresham Park. I stole for the first time at South Dekalb Mall. I saw my first shootout on Flat Shoals. I still got patna’s on McAfee. And Wesley Chapel will forever be my home. Thank you to Decatur. You raised a real one. 

XO.