A South Side Orange: Poems & Other Fruit

By Jessica Contessa

A South Side Orange is a collection of poems and prose that unravels the seams of the frustrations of poverty and injustice, which both are heavily embedded in the foundations of the overlooked impoverished and less favored black neighborhoods like the west-sides and south-sides o

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forth Rivers Publishing
• Release date: Oct 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735217802

Jessica Contessa

Jessica is a writer, author, and entrepreneur who was born in Chicago, IL but was raised in Northern Indiana. She began her entrepreneurial endeavors helping young women self-publish their own books and blogs. Jessica founded her publishing company as a way to have different discussions on the topics of healing through creative writing and storytelling.

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Jessica Contessa

A South Side Orange

Poems and Other Fruit

First published by Forth Rivers Publishing 2020

Copyright © 2020 by Jessica Contessa

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Jessica Contessa asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

First paperback edition October 2020

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Paperback: 978-1-7352178-1-9

Ebook: 978-1-7352178-0-2

Forth Rivers Publishing

Chicago, IL 60619

First edition

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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Contents

Acknowledgments

I. THE ROOTS

Seeds, Soil, Sweat and Blood

To The Last Generation

Name that Fruit

Repent

Weep For This

Blood Cries

Hood’s Darkest Tale

Wake Up

The Root of Fear

HASHTAG

LIMITS

CLEAN UP

The Soul Has Roots

II. THE VINE

SONS

Things God Would Say to His Son

Son, listen…

Sons

Brother

South Side I

It Eats Me Alive

Connected

A Love to Die For…

No Retraction

To Good-a-Deal

A Piece

A New Identity

Inner Wars

Crown to Soul

Burn

The Future

I Dare You…

Made In America

Black Blood

Duel

Vision of Liberty

Kill Your Darlings and Kill Your Demons

Lemons

III. THE FRUIT

South Side II

The Green Crop

A South Side Poem

Garden in the Hood

Pick This

Regret

Sour

Speak

Sandra Bland

The Cycle

Romantic Fruit

Song and Dance

Read Me

Daughter(s)

Coil of Love

Family Tree

She Carries

Her Strength

Gathered

Due Season

Grow Again

Shadows

Breonna Taylor

2020

About the Author

Acknowledgments

For my Daughter Akira,

Always remember to hold your head up, be brave, and go forth.

Be unapologetic.

Bring Heaven to Earth in your generation.

I

The Roots

Seeds, Soil, Sweat and Blood

My Roots Hurt to Comb

I "ouch" and wince at the tangles

I get frustrated at the knots

and the endless split ends

My arms are tired from trying to wrangle

the understanding of the injustice that a justice system defends

and is responsible for these tangles.

The conditioner