You’ll walk into a faux French bistro on the waterfront
The type of establishment shoehorned in to cater to travelers
Looking for cultured meals in cookies cutter
Pre-planned urban redeveloped safety
This is not your usual flavor
But today is for budding
And you have good taste

You are a native here
Ran these roads during gym class drills
Carried large bushels of crabs
For steam and smoke sessions at Aunt Mae’s
Ducked niggas looking to snatch your shoes and hid behind trees
In what used to be the park.

It’s now a CVS
Convenient. Valuable. Serviceable.

You walk in
One of 3 brown faces
The only not in formal wear
Zebra print-shoes
Bangles and green tipped locs
Adorn your small but growing frame
The staff
Off-guard when you order the “Pain Perdu”
With perfect diction
There is no tree to hide behind now

Embarrassment and prejudice
Go down easy
With blueberry compote
The French toast
Sweet as erasure
The tab
Covered in the price of your past.