i’m sawing off my roots

By Cyrus Parker

watching the place

i had called home

for twenty-five years

turn red

for the first time

in twenty-four—

on a night that would determine

the future

of not only myself,

but so many other people,

many whose entire livelihoods

were on the line—

was the first time

i had ever been

ashamed

of where i’d come from.

Cyrus Parker is a New Jersey-based poet, originally from Michigan, where he spent four years actively wrestling on the local independent wrestling circuit. On a hiatus from the squared circle, Cyrus is taking the time to pursue his other passion—writing. A creative writing major at Brookdale Community College, Cyrus’ work has been published in the college’s annual literary magazine, Collage, and he is currently revising his first poetry collection, DROPKICKpoetry, which he hopes to release sometime in 2017. Follow Cyrus on Facebook and Twitter.