Our next honoree is a truly beautiful queen named Laura Lynch. I chose to honor her today for one simple, yet profound reason: she has a heart of absolute gold, and her love for God is completely infectious.

Laura is the pure embodiment of love, light, togetherness, and inspiration. On her platform, she beautifully states that she is constantly *"seeking the light in the hardest transitions."* She doesn't just write these words as an author; she lives them every single day. She takes the time to read through dozens of people's messages, carefully picking five that speak directly to her spirit. She then leaves thoughtful comments and shares their stories with others, wrapping everyday people in encouragement and grace.

Her generosity and compassion extend far beyond the screen. Laura is a dedicated supporter of incredible charities like St. Jude and Tunnel to Towers, always looking for ways to give back. Furthermore, she and her husband are a shining example of a happy, deeply rooted marriage. Together, they take the time to counsel and mentor young married couples, guiding them with real love and hard-earned wisdom.

This is the kind of light that we want to spread out into the universe. This is what we should all strive to become, and this is the exact energy we need to gravitate towards. A woman who pours so much of her soul into others deserves to be honored three times over.

So, I ask that you join me in lifting her up. Help me help her take a well-deserved bow, and let’s make absolutely sure we give this beautiful queen her metaphoric flowers today.

Written by King poet

My beautiful Annaiah Catherine Brown,

It is so hard for me to tell you that I am happy you are with God. My human side, my selfish side, just wishes with everything in me that you were still right here with me. You were only four years old, but you changed my heart forever.

I had so many beautiful things planned for you. I wanted you to grow up to be honorable, empowered, successful, and endlessly loved. I wanted to be there to make sure that any man you ever dated would treat you like the absolute queen you are.

Because I can’t give those things to you here on earth, I am making you a vow today. Annaiah, daddy has completely renounced gang violence. I promise to serve God to the utmost and to be the absolute best version of a man that I can be. Since I cannot give you the royal treatment and protection you deserved, I promise to give every woman I come across that exact same honor and respect. I will never disrespect a woman in any way, and I promise to empower women until the day I die.

Daddy will not break this promise to you, and I know you know this. I promise you, my sweet girl, that I will always be 100% authentic, no matter how hard life gets for me or what I have to face. When you look down from heaven, all I want is for you to smile at the man I am becoming for you. I will carry this in my heart every single day until my time comes, and you can finally run into my arms again.

Your daddy,

Eldridge Brown

I am becoming,

Inspired by Michelle Potter

I am writing this to you from the starting line. Right now, I am looking down the long, winding road of our life, and I know enough to realize that we are not going to walk it perfectly. I know that by the time you are reading these words, you have collected some scars. You have lived through some heavy days, and you have carried the weight of your own flawed choices.

I am writing this to tell you something you need to hear: **I forgive you.**

I know you are going to make mistakes. I know you are going to go down the wrong path every once in a while. There will be seasons where the noise of the world drowns out the quiet truth in your heart. You will be tempted by shortcuts, you will stumble in the dark, and there might be moments where you look around and realize you have completely lost sight of who you are meant to be.

Do not let the guilt of those missteps anchor you to the past. The wrong paths were never meant to be your final destination; they were meant to teach you the value of the right one.

But here is the single, undeniable truth I need you to remember when you feel the most lost:

> **If you keep God first and foremost, you can always, always get put back on the right path.**

He is the ultimate compass. When you realize you have drifted off course, you do not need to panic. You do not need to let shame convince you that you have gone too far to be saved. Just look up. Seek His face. Drop to your knees if you have to, and surrender the map you’ve been trying to draw yourself. His grace is infinitely larger than our greatest mistakes, and His blueprint for your life does not get torn up just because you colored outside the lines.

Every time you fall, God is there offering His hand—not to condemn you, but to pull you back up, brush off the dust, and point you forward.

I need you to hold your head high. You have a purpose that is so much greater than your temporary failures. Let your struggles become the testimony that inspires someone else who is wandering in the dark. Let your life be a living, breathing example of redemption.

You are resilient. You are loved beyond measure by the Creator of the universe. Keep your faith as the unshakeable foundation of your life, and no storm will ever wash you away. Keep your eyes on Him, and everything else will fall into its proper place.

I am so proud of the man you are, and the man you are still striving to be. Keep walking, keep believing, and never forget the light that guides you home.

King poet

## Giving Flowers to a Real One: Michelle Potter

Let's give flowers while people can still smell 'em. For this September edition, I gotta take a minute to put a spotlight on somebody who is truly rare—Michelle Potter. Real talk, she’s the type of soul that shifts the whole atmosphere when you connect with her. I’m honoring her today cause we gotta recognize the real ones out here moving with pure love and spreading that light.

**Dropping Gems & Empowering Minds**

First off, the pen is crazy. She’s already a two-time published author—dropping heavy gems on us—and she got a third book cooking up right now that’s gonna bless everybody. Through her words, she’s out here empowering minds, encouraging the people, and making sure we all level up.

**Holding It Down for the Fam**

But beyond the books, she holds it down at home. She’s a beautiful mother and a deeply devoted wife. Family is everything to her, and that fierce love and loyalty she pours into her household? She takes that same exact energy and spills it out to the rest of the world.

**Nothing But Good Vibes and Togetherness**

The real reason I’m honoring her though... is her heart. She spreads nothing but goodwill, pure joy, and togetherness. By becoming this beacon of positivity, she brings folks together. Ain't no room for negativity around her, just straight uplifting energy. When life hits hard, she shows genuine grace, deep compassion, and sends out prayers that you can actually feel in your spirit.

Michelle, we appreciate you. Thank you for the good energy, the real compassion, and for just being unapologetically you. Keep shining, keep writing, and keep making us all proud. We see you!

**— Written by King poet**

## Thank You for Accepting Me

Pulled up to the gate with a heavy heart,

Not even knowing where the hell to start.

A stranger to the rhythm, just a ghost in the hall,

Waiting on judgment, just waiting to fall.

Carried my Ls like rocks in a pack,

Swore the whole world was gonna turn its back.

But you didn’t trip on the dirt on my kicks,

Or the messy ways I was out here in the mix.

You looked in my eyes and caught the spark,

And reached out a hand, pulled me up from the dark.

**Thank you for accepting me.**

To the OGs who never looked down,

Who didn't hit my questions with a sigh or a frown.

You gave me a seat at the table with the real ones,

Showed me I could bounce back under the sun.

You shared your time, your wisdom, your grind,

Helping a tired soul leave the struggle behind.

You didn't make me prove my worth out the gate,

You saw the hunger and put food on the plate.

You spoke to me straight, put respect on my name,

And suddenly, I wasn’t alone in the game.

To the queens who stood right by my side,

With that fierce kind of power they ain't gotta hide.

You taught me belonging is a gift that we give,

A way to let the ones hurting finally live.

You saw my hands shaking and didn’t even judge,

Didn’t hold a single messed up moment as a grudge.

You put me on game, you shared the technique,

Gave a loud voice to the parts that were weak.

In a world so quick to lock doors and exclude,

You matched my energy with nothing but gratitude.

We hustle in the heat and we grind in the cold,

Polishing the silver, refining the gold.

But the realest work that went down on this site,

Was the way y'all pulled me up into the light.

I used to be careful about what I’d say,

Tucking the broken pieces of myself away.

But your realness acted like a key in a lock,

Turned all my shifting sand into solid rock.

Now I'm part of the squad, part of the whole,

'Cause you took a chance on a searching soul.

The walls I built up just to keep people out,

Got leveled by you, wiped away all the doubt.

The heavy shame I carried has started to fade,

In the shadow of the solid bond we made.

I ain't gotta hide, and I ain't gotta lie,

I can look every single person straight in the eye.

For the warmth of the welcome, the space that you cleared,

For the way that you listened when I was stuck in the fear.

I stand here today with my head held high,

Looking up at a wide-open sky.

A better man, a craftsman, a friend,

Walking down a path that I hope never ends.

In every real handshake, every degree,

I’ll always remember how you looked at me.

From the bottom of my soul, for setting me free...

**Thank you for accepting me.**

---

**Written by King poet**

### Your Energy

Energy is everything. It ain't just a mood, it’s the raw material—the literal fuel helping you become exactly who God intended you to be from day one. You walk out into this world and you feel it instantly. You get that bright, elevating positive energy from some folks, and then... you hit that heavy, draining negative energy from others. It's just real talk.

But check this. When you cross paths with somebody carrying all that negativity, you don’t gotta completely cancel them or permanently erase them from your life. Just distance yourself. Fall back a little bit.

Why? Because while you keep moving forward, absorbing that pure energy God feeds directly into your spirit, you start transforming. You level up. You step fully into your purpose. And from that safe distance, they get a front-row seat to watch you become exactly who you are supposed to be. You don't have to fight their dark energy; your light shining from a distance is the only statement you need to make. Keep your spirit fed and let your energy speak for you.

> *"You don't gotta cut off the negative forever, just step back—let God’s energy build you up while they watch you become the masterpiece."*

Written by King poet

## Put God First and There's Nothing You Can't Accomplish

When the weight of the world got you stressed in your mind,

And you're feeling burnt out from the daily grind.

When the mountain you're facing is way too steep,

And the pain in your chest cuts a little too deep.

Hold up for a second, just quiet the noise,

Tap in with the Spirit and listen for His voice.

The secret to moving the earth and the sea,

Is unlocking that faith that sets your soul free.

Before you step out, before you begin,

Before you start stressing on how you gon' win,

Drop all that baggage, the worry, the thirst,

And make the boss move to put the Lord first.

Look, your own hustle will only go far,

You might get the bag, buy a brand-new car.

But our muscle is weak, yeah, our power is frail,

Without the Creator, the mission goes stale.

But when you link up with the Maker of light,

The blindest of visions are given their sight.

The steepest of valleys get leveled out flat,

God handles the ops, yeah, it’s simple as that.

Put God in the center, the front, and the start,

Tattoo His name on the walls of your heart.

'Cause when He's the driver, the pathways are clear,

And His perfect love cancels out all your fear.

They tell you it’s chalked, they tell you it’s done,

They say there is nowhere to hide from the sun.

They say those big dreams are just cap, a pursuit,

A tree in the desert that won't bear no fruit.

But God is the water, the sun, and the seed,

The ultimate plug for whatever you need.

With Him in your corner, the giants gon' fall,

You’ll jump over hurdles, smash right through the wall.

Ain't no sickness or struggle He can't outheal,

Ain't no promise He made that He won't reveal.

No flex is too massive, no vision too grand,

When you're walking right, holding the Master’s hand.

Imagine a life where the limits are gone,

Where the darkest of nights turn right into the dawn.

Where an L is a lesson, a step on the stair,

Because you’ve put all of your steps in His care.

The startup, the family, the passion, the goal,

The healing of body, the fixing of soul—

Whatever the fire that burns in your chest,

Just hand it to God and let Him do the rest.

Don't lean on your street smarts, don't trust your own might,

We just the shadows, but He is the light.

Seek first His kingdom, His truth, and His grace,

And watch how the pieces fall right into place.

When haters surround you and say you’re too small,

When society's plotting to make you take the fall,

When doors get slammed loudly right in your face,

And you feel like you're losing your spot in the race.

Just smile at the haters and laugh at the odds,

Remember your strength isn't yours, it is God's.

He opens the doors that no human can close,

He blesses the lily, He nurtures the rose.

If He's looking out for the birds up above,

How much more are you, who was made by His love?

The waters will part when you step in the stream,

He’ll breathe living fire right into your dream.

You’ll run and not weary, you’ll walk and not faint,

You’ll masterpiece everything that you paint.

No demon can stop you, no weapon can stand,

No ops in the street can block what He planned.

So boss up with courage, stand tall in your faith,

And run with endurance this glorious race.

Whenever you stumble, whenever you tire,

Remember the source of your heavenly fire.

The realest truth spoken, eternally voiced:

There’s nothing you can't do when God is your choice.

Let every new morning start off with a prayer,

Give props to His presence, His power, His care.

'Cause empires crumble and billionaires fall,

But God is the G.O.A.T., He's the ruler of all.

To conquer the impossible, break every curse,

Just stick to the code and put the Lord first.

Put God first written by King poet

### "Ten Toes Down"

Yeah. Check the mic. They call me King Poet.

And I wanna talk about the state of hearts today.

Real talk. No cap. Just the raw truth about this thing we call love.

Let’s get into it.

We out here swiping right to find a soulmate,

Treating human beings like a menu on a dinner plate.

Sliding in the DMs with that manufactured rizz,

But honestly, half of us don't know what a connection is.

We double-tap a picture, call it showing our affection,

Looking to an algorithm to point us in the right direction.

Welcome to the *talking stage*, the hardest game to play,

Where you leave 'em on read just to see what they will say.

We playing chess with texts, measuring the time it takes,

Calculating every move, raising up the hidden stakes.

It’s lowkey exhausting, this digital facade,

Fronting like we’re flawless when we know we're fully flawed.

And if we make it past the texts, we hit the modern trap,

Welcome to the *situationship*, where feelings get no map.

"We just vibing," yeah, that’s the lie we always sell,

Living in a purgatory, right between a heaven and a hell.

We doing wifey things, husband duties on the low,

But when somebody asks "what are we?" we panic and say, "I don't know."

We out here soft launching lovers on the IG story,

Showing just an elbow, chasing social media glory.

Keeping options open, afraid to just commit,

Because FOMO got us thinking there is something else to hit.

We want the loyal love, but we moving like we single,

Getting tangled in the mess every time we try to mingle.

Ignoring all the red flags, painting them a lovely pink,

Pouring out our trauma, taking down another drink.

They acting super toxic, gaslighting all our thoughts,

Got us twisted in our minds, tying up our hearts in knots.

But it’s *cuffing season*, so we settle for the warmth,

Riding out the chaos, trying to survive the storm.

Then out of nowhere—boom—you get hit with the ghost,

The one you gave your energy is the one that hurts the most.

Left on delivered, watching their location change,

How somebody goes from everything to acting so estranged?

It hits different when the silence is the only sound,

When the one that kept you floating puts you six feet underground.

Listen to me. We gotta break the cycle. We gotta do it right.

Stop chasing after shadows in the middle of the night.

Before you try to date, you gotta heal your own mind,

Leave the baggage from your ex and the trauma all behind.

You can't pour from an empty cup, that's just basic math,

You gotta find your own peace before you share your path.

Real love ain't a hashtag, it ain't a trending sound,

It's building up an empire from the bottom of the ground.

It’s matching energy. It’s staying ten toes down.

It’s keeping on the loyalty and holding up the crown.

Find somebody who will claim you, in public and the dark,

Who doesn't need a filter to appreciate your spark.

No more breadcrumbing, no more playing with the brain,

Just two genuine souls standing steady in the rain.

High-key devotion, matching up the frequency,

No more moving shady, just total transparency.

So protect your peace. Guard your heart with all you got.

Don't let a temporary person take your permanent spot.

Wait for the real one. The one that helps you grow it.

Don't settle for the fake.

Peace and love to all y'all.

Signed,

The King Poet.

---

To be honest, I literally threw the map out the window and burned all my old bridges... I just knew I couldn’t keep moving like the guy I used to be. I saw that light breaking through the dark and man, I finally felt that spark I have been waiting on for so long. There are no U-turns now, no easy ways out to avoid the good moments or the growing pains. I completely ditched the rat race and all the heavy drama just to drop my tired soul right into whatever wild destiny we have going on. This trip does not have a finish line, starting off with some beautiful energy on this one-way street straight to your heart.

I don’t even need a rearview mirror to look at my history or a map to show the messy wreckage from my past. The dust is settling on my old tracks, while the rhythm of you breathing is constantly running through my head right now. Every single mile is pure grace and every bridge is built on trust, standing tall above the everyday grind. I am seeing flowers blooming in the rough patches, catching all that brilliant midday sun. The whole vibe is just pure kindness and crazy open skies pulling me directly into your actual soul.

If the mountains try to block me or the rivers get too wild? I will just find the answer in your eyes every morning, for real. I packed away all the lonely energy and locked out the cold, traded all of that in for a story nobody has even heard yet. Because loving you is this deep, non-stop wave, a promise flashing like lightning but calm as still water. I am driving straight into the sunrise with crystal clear vision, keeping the wheel of destiny literally in my own hands. No more walking in circles or letting life just pass me by... just this beautiful, blessed cruise down the one-way road to your heart.

— King Poet 👑✍️

### Smile

When the skies grow dark and the road is rough,

When you feel like you have simply had enough,

Just lift your head and brave the mile,

Take a deep breath, and simply smile.

If someone breaks the trust you gave,

And tries to make your heart behave,

Don't give them your power, don't bow to the guile,

Protect your own peace, and choose to smile.

Don't give the devil the power to steal,

The light in your soul, the joy that you feel.

Through every hardship, through every trial,

Hold onto your spirit, and boldly smile.

A smile is a weapon, a shield in the fight,

A smile turns the darkest of shadows to light.

No matter the hurt, or the tears in the aisle,

Keep your strength close, and always smile.

So when the world crashes in a heavy pile,

Do not be broken, do not lose your style.

Through all the chaos, step back for a while...

Anyway smile

Written by King poet

**Part 6: The Crown and the Corner Store**

Opening day man you couldn’t even walk down Elm Street without bumping into somebody cause the whole neighborhood came out to show love. We had a DJ set up right outside on the sidewalk bumping music we had the taco trucks pulling up it was feeling like a straight up block party in the middle of a Saturday. My salon was shining like a literal diamond right there on the same dirty corner I used to walk down with my head tucked into my hoodie. I named it The Concrete Rose. Inside it was looking like a movie set all white marble floors and rose gold mirrors smelling like eucalyptus and expensive heat protectant. I had six chairs going all filled with talented girls I hired straight from the neighborhood girls who had that same hungry hustle in their eyes that I had back on that front porch. And Mama man you shoulda seen Mama. She was sitting at the custom front desk I built specifically for her looking like a whole queen wearing a silk blouse and her hair laid to the absolute gods. She ain’t looked tired in over a year her eyes was bright and she was just smiling at everybody walking in. I retired her she don’t gotta worry about no light bills or eviction notices or working double shifts at no diner ever again. I pay the mortgage now.

But the absolute craziest part of the day was around noon when we started the back to school giveaway. See I remembered exactly how much it hurt to stand in them church lines feeling like a charity case so I said we doing it completely different. We wasn’t just giving away dented cans and powdered milk we had custom backpacks stuffed with fresh supplies we had gift cards for real groceries so families could buy what they actually wanted and we was doing free silk presses and braids for all the little girls. I was working the first chair just catching my breath when this little girl walked in holding her mama’s hand. She was maybe ten skinny as a rail with knobby knees wearing this faded oversized t-shirt and she was looking straight down at the floor avoiding eye contact with everybody in the room. My heart literally stopped beating for a second cause it was like looking in a time machine. She was me.

I stepped away from my station walked right up to her and gently tipped her chin up so she had to look at me in my eyes. I told her ain’t no looking down in this building babygirl you a queen and queens gotta keep their heads up so the crown don’t slip. I put her in my chair and I gave her the absolute best wash and style I ever did in my entire life. While I was braiding her hair I was talking to her telling her she can be anything she want in this world telling her that the struggle she going through right now with the hand-me-downs and the tight money is just making her stronger for the future. When I spun her around to the mirror she didn’t just smile man she beamed. She looked at herself like she was pure magic. Before she left I slipped a crisp hundred dollar bill in her hand and told her to keep saving it in a shoebox and when she get old enough she can come right back here and I’ll teach her how to sweep my floors and eventually run her own chair.

Later that evening when the sun was going down and the streetlights started flickering on I just stood outside on the curb looking up at my building. The neon pink sign reflecting on the cracked concrete. And you ain’t gonna believe this but Sal from the corner store actually walked down the block and brought me a whole bouquet of flowers smiling real big and calling me Boss Lady which is crazy considering he used to watch me count out them colorful monopoly food stamps sweating bullets at his register. I bought a sparkling cider from him and tipped him a fifty just cause I could.

Life is funny like that man it really comes full circle if you push hard enough and refuse to let the world tell you no. The hood tried its best to break me it tried to drown me in poverty and shame but all it really did was teach me how to swim with the sharks. I ain’t just survive my environment I bought the building on the corner and completely remodeled it. We ain’t just surviving no more we thriving we building real generational wealth out here. The paper money and powdered milk days is gone forever and I can finally say I wouldn’t change a single second of the struggle cause it made me exactly who I am today. Completely and utterly unstoppable.

***

> *”Poverty teaches you how to hide, but empowerment teaches you how to stand in the light. This story ain’t about the tragedy of where she started, it’s about the absolute triumph of where she’s going. The concrete only makes the rose that much more beautiful when it finally breaks through.”* – King poet

written by King poet

**Part 5: Denied Stamps and the Brick and Mortar**

Look having your own chair is cool and all but when you got an empire state of mind a chair starts feeling like a cage real quick. I was booked and busy months in advance doing twelve hour shifts standing on my feet till my ankles swelled up but I was making more money than anybody in my family ever seen in their whole life. But I was still giving Miss Peaches a huge cut of my earnings every week for booth rent and every time I handed her that envelope the fire in my chest got a little hotter. I was grateful for the opportunity but I ain’t survive the food stamp lines just to pay somebody else’s mortgage you feel me. I wanted my name on the building. I wanted to be the one tossing the broom to the next young hungry girl from the block.

So I put together this crazy detailed business plan I mean I was staying up till 3 AM watching youtube videos on how to write financial projections and profit margins. I bought this cheap little blazer from the thrift store trying to look all professional and I walked into the big bank downtown. The air conditioning in there was so cold it felt like ice on my skin and everybody was walking around in these gray suits looking at me like I accidentally wandered off the street. I sat down with this loan officer dude named Mr. Harrison who kept looking at his watch while I pitched my dream. I showed him my numbers my client list my social media engagement all of it. He just gave me this fake tight smile and slid my folder back across the desk saying something about high risk neighborhoods and lack of credit history. Basically telling me in polite corporate words that girls from Elm Street don’t get business loans.

I walked out that bank and for a quick second that old familiar shame tried to creep up my neck. The same shame from the corner store register and the church pantry line. But then I caught my reflection in the big glass doors of that bank and I didn’t see that terrified skinny girl in the hand-me-downs no more. I saw a boss. I realized right then and there that I didn’t need their permission or their money to build my kingdom cause I built everything I had from the mud up anyway. If the front door is locked you go through the back window and if the window is painted shut you bring a hammer and smash the whole wall down.

I started driving around my own neighborhood looking at all the empty boarded up spots. There was this old dry cleaners right on the corner of Elm Street same street I used to sweat bullets walking down with them food stamp books. The building was tore up looking sad and forgotten just like the city forgot about us. I tracked down the landlord this old man who lived two cities over and I pitched him directly. I didn’t use no fancy bank terms I just showed him my shoebox full of cash and told him I’ll fix the place up myself if he gives me a break on the first six months rent. He looked at the cash looked at me and handed over the keys.

Man them next few months was pure grit. Me and Mama and a couple of my cousins was in there every single night after my shifts at Sassy’s tearing up ugly carpet painting walls putting down laminate flooring. We was eating gas station pizza sitting on paint buckets but we was laughing cause it was ours. I was putting every single dime I made right back into the drywall and the plumbing. When the sign finally went up on the front of the building with my own logo on it I just stood out on the sidewalk and cried. But it wasn’t the broke tears no more it was the absolute joy of knowing nobody could ever evict me from my own destiny again. I took the very worst things the world handed me and I spun it into pure gold.

***

> *”Poverty teaches you how to hide, but empowerment teaches you how to stand in the light. This story ain’t about the tragedy of where she started, it’s about the absolute triumph of where she’s going. The concrete only makes the rose that much more beautiful when it finally breaks through.”* – King poet

written by King poet

**Part 4: Barbicide Hands and the Empty Chair**

Man sweeping up other people’s hair ain’t glamorous at all it’s actually pretty gross but I didn’t even care cause I was finally in the building. For the first six months at Sassy’s I didn’t touch a single pair of shears or a flat iron. I was strictly the cleanup crew washing out nasty relaxer bowls sweeping up bundles of fake hair and folding hot towels till my hands was raw and smelling like straight up Barbicide and bleach. But see while I was doing all that grunt work my eyes was wide open like a hawk. I was soaking up the game for free. I watched everything Miss Peaches and the older stylists was doing. I watched how they mixed the bleach so it wouldn’t fry the hair how they talked to the clients to make em feel like they was the most beautiful women in the world how they handled the cash register at the end of the night.

I ain’t gonna lie it was tough cause some of the stylists didn’t want me there. There was this one girl named Chanel who used to treat me like literal dirt always snapping her fingers at me to come clean her station like I was a stray dog or something. She had the fancy car and the designer bags but her attitude was straight trash and her blending technique was actually garbage if we keeping it a buck. I used to just bite my tongue and sweep up her mess cause I knew my time was coming. I was going to cosmetology school at night right after I barely graduated high school cause I was always working. I was living off gas station coffee and corner store beef patties getting maybe three hours of sleep a night just trying to get my official state license so nobody could ever tell me I didn’t belong in a real shop. Mama was doing a little better working a front desk job so the eviction notices stopped coming but we was still living paycheck to paycheck and I was tired of just getting by.

Then came the Saturday before Mother’s day which is basically the super bowl in a black hair salon. The shop was packed wall to wall smelling like spritz and burnt hair people waiting in chairs standing by the door looking at their watches getting mad. Chanel decided she wanted to call out sick which everybody knew meant she was hungover from the club the night before. This lady named Ms. Loretta was sitting there tight lipped cause she had a big church banquet to go to and her stylist wasn’t showing up. Miss Peaches was running around sweating trying to juggle two clients at once and she finally just stopped looked over at me holding the broom and said Shay you got your temp license right. I nodded my heart beating so fast I thought it was gonna break my ribs. She pointed at Chanel’s empty chair and said get Ms. Loretta right don’t mess up my reputation girl.

I stepped up to that chair and I was shaking so bad I had to hide my hands in my apron. But the second I draped that cape over Ms. Loretta and picked up the comb it was like all them years on the front porch all them nights practicing on my own head all them months watching Miss Peaches just took over my body. The muscle memory kicked in and the fear just vanished. I washed her blow dried her gave her a silk press that was so bouncy and shiny it looked like glass. When I spun that chair around and she looked in the mirror she actually started crying tears of joy man she reached in her purse and handed me a fifty dollar tip on top of the service. Miss Peaches watched the whole thing from the next station and when Ms. Loretta left she walked over and put a piece of masking tape with the name ‘Shay’ over Chanel’s station.

That was the exact moment I leveled up. I wasn’t the broke little girl ducking her head at the food pantry no more. I wasn’t the girl sweeping up other people’s garbage. I had my own chair. I was making real legit money and my clientele started growing so fast I couldn’t even book everybody. But more than the money I was realizing something way bigger. I was watching how Peaches ran the business side paying the overhead ordering the inventory doing the taxes. I didn’t just want a chair no more. The fire in my belly was telling me I wanted the whole damn building.

***

written by King poet

**Part 3: The Empty Shoebox and the Swept Floors**

Look by the time high school hit I was running a whole bootleg salon out my bedroom man I ain’t even gonna lie I was getting to the bag. I had girls lined up on the porch waiting for me to hit em with the hot comb or lay their frontals down cause word got around that Shay had the magic hands and didn’t charge them crazy mall prices. That old Nike shoebox under my bed was getting heavy real thick smelling like edge control and hair grease and straight up independence. I was counting it every night running my fingers over the twenties and the tens feeling like I was finally building a bridge right up out the hood. I even started looking at community college pamphlets thinking maybe I could actually get a business degree or something wild like that. You start getting a little bit of paper and suddenly you feel like you got permission to dream bigger than the block.

But see the thing about the hood is right when you think you climbing out it loves to grab your ankle and yank you right back down to the concrete. Life hit us with a mean left hook out of nowhere. The landlord sold our building to some shiny new management company and they jacked the rent up something stupid like almost double what Mama was paying. I came home from school one Tuesday and Mama was just sitting at the kitchen table in the dark not even crying just staring at this typed up paper like her soul left her body. The eviction notice wasn’t a threat no more it was a promise. She lost her second shift at the diner cause they cut hours and she just looked at me and said Shay I don’t know what we gonna do we gotta pack up.

Man I swear my stomach dropped straight to the floorboards. Everything I was building all them hours sweating on the porch my whole escape plan was just vanishing in the dark kitchen. I walked into my room pulled that Nike shoebox out from under the bed and I just held it. It was my way out. It was my freedom. But you can’t walk out the door and leave your own blood drowning behind you right. I took that box walked back into the kitchen and dumped every single dollar on the table right over that eviction notice. Hundreds of dollars crumpled up fives tens a couple crisp fifties I saved for months. Mama started bawling telling me she can’t take my money it ain’t right she supposed to take care of me. I just hugged her and told her ain’t no ‘my’ money when we sharing the same struggle we in this together.

Paying that rent kept a roof over our heads but looking at that empty shoebox the next morning broke my heart into a million little pieces. I felt like I was back at square one back to being the broke girl in the hand-me-downs. But then something else kicked in. A different kind of fire. I realized they took the money but they couldn’t take the hustle out my hands. The money was just paper but the skill the grind that was inside me and you can’t evict that. I couldn’t just rely on porch money no more I needed to level up for real.

I walked my broke self down to 4th street to this legit spot called Sassy’s Hair Studio. The place was booming smelling like flat irons and expensive perfume. I walked right up to the owner this lady named Miss Peaches who looked like she didn’t take no mess from nobody. I told her I didn’t have no license yet but I work harder than anybody she ever met and I’ll sweep the floors clean the mirrors wash the towels do whatever just let me in the building so I can learn from the pros. She looked me up and down saw that hungry look in my eyes and tossed me a broom. I wasn’t just surviving no more I was plotting my takeover. I was starting from the bottom all over again but this time I was playing in the big leagues.

***

written by King poet

**Part 2: Hand-Me-Downs and the Front Porch Hustle**

Look middle school was a whole different type of beast altogether cause kids is ruthless man they don’t care if your lights got cut off at home they only care that your nikes got a scuff mark or you wearing the same jeans from Tuesday on a Thursday. I was swimming in my older cousin’s hand-me-downs smelling like mothballs and cheap laundry detergent just trying to blend into the lockers so nobody would notice me. You know that free lunch line? Man that was another walk of shame entirely. Handing over that little colored paper ticket while everybody else pulling out crisp dollar bills for the vending machines or the good pizza slices. I remember this one girl Tasha always popping her bubblegum loud pointing and laughing with her friends cause my backpack had a rip in it patched up with silver duct tape. I used to eat my government square pizza in the corner just watching everybody else live a life I couldn’t even afford to dream about yet. My face hot all the time just embarrassed to exist.

But something clicked in me right around eighth grade. I was sitting on the stoop watching the streetlights flicker and I got tired of the pity. I was sick and tired of the empty stomach feeling and watching Mama cry over the electric bill so I decided I gotta make my own way cause waiting on a miracle wasn’t paying nobody’s rent. I couldn’t just watch her work herself into an early grave no more. I went to the local beauty supply store with a couple wrinkled up dollars I scavenged from the couch cushions and the bottom of Mama’s purse and I bought some styling gel and a rat tail comb. I started doing girls hair on my front porch for ten fifteen dollars a head. Feed-in braids box braids cornrows whatever they wanted I figured it out. I’d watch the older girls in the neighborhood and then practice on my own head till my fingers cramped up and my arms went numb.

Summertime in the hood hit different when you trying to hustle. I’m talking about standing on my feet for six hours straight in the blazing heat sweating out my own edges just to make enough cash to buy some real food for the house. But man the first time I held a real twenty dollar bill that I made with my own two hands? I swear it felt like I was holding a million bucks. No food stamps no charity boxes from the church just straight up hustle and grind. I didn’t have to look at the ground when I took that money cause I earned every single penny of it. I walked my self back down Elm street to that same corner store and bought actual groceries that week name brand stuff not the cheap knockoffs. And when I handed the cash to Sal the cashier I looked him dead in his eyes. No pity today bro. Just straight business. I saw the surprise on his face and I ain’t gonna lie it felt real good.

It wasn’t easy though cause the block is always trying to pull you back down into the mud like crabs in a bucket. You got sirens blasting every single night boys on the corner trying to holler at you when you just trying to walk to the bus stop people telling you ain’t nobody from this zip code ever gonna be nothing but a statistic on the evening news. The system is designed to keep you exactly where you are broke and broken. But every time somebody doubted me or laughed at my duct tape backpack it just threw another log on that fire burning in my chest. I started keeping an old Nike shoebox under my bed putting every five and ten dollar bill I made in there hiding it like it was buried treasure.

That cardboard box was my ticket out the hood. I didn’t know exactly where I was going but I knew for a fact I was moving forward and I wasn’t never looking back. The hand-me-down clothes started fitting a little different when you walking with your head held high instead of staring at the cracked concrete. I was realizing that my environment didn’t have to be my destiny it was just the messy waiting room for the life I was bout to build brick by broken brick. The struggle was teaching me how to hustle and that hustle was finna change everything. It was the first time I realized I actually had power.

***

written by King poet

**Part 1: The Weight of Paper Money and Powdered Milk**

Listen man, ain’t nobody tell you how heavy a piece of paper can feel until you holding it in a checkout line. I was maybe ten, skinny as a rail with knobby knees, living in a neighborhood where the streetlights was always blinking out like they was just too tired to watch us struggle anymore. We didn’t have much. Nah, scratch that, we had negative much. Mama worked two shifts at the diner just to keep the eviction notices from sticking to our front door like wallpaper.

I remember the walk to the corner store like it was yesterday. My stomach doing gymnastics cause I ain’t eat nothing but a slice of plain bread since the morning. Mama handed me the food stamps. Back then they came in these little booklets, looked like monopoly money but carried a whole lot of real-life shame. “Just get milk, bread, and some of them cheap hotdogs Shay,” she said looking so tired her eyes looked bruised. I clutched that little book in my pocket sweating bullets the whole three blocks down Elm Street.

When you poor, the world feels loud. Every time the bell on the store door dinged, my heart jumped up my throat. I walked the narrow aisles doing the math in my head, praying to a God I wasn’t sure was listening that I didn’t miscalculate. But the worst part ain’t the math, it’s the register. Getting up there, laying the food down on the belt, and waiting for the cashier. It was this dude named Sal who always looked at me with this pity that made my skin crawl right off my bones. Ringing it up. Pulling out them colorful stamps... man, I swear the whole store went quiet just to watch me be broke. The people behind me sighing, shifting their weight, looking at their watches. You just wanna sink straight into the dirty linoleum floor and disappear forever. I grabbed the plastic bags and ran out fast as my raggedy converse could take me, tears stinging my eyes but I refused to let em fall.

And don’t even get me started on the church pantries. Saturdays wasn’t for watching cartoons or playing double dutch. Saturdays was for standing in a line wrapped around the brick wall of St. Jude’s waiting for a cardboard box of dented cans and powdered milk. I used to pull my hoodie way up over my head even if it was 90 degrees out, suffocating myself, terrified somebody from school would drive by and see me. See *us*. You learn real quick how to make yourself small when you living on hand-outs. You duck your head, you don’t make eye contact, you just take the box and whisper thank you. You swallow your pride so much it just becomes your regular diet, taking the place of real food.

But look, that was just the beginning right. The soil I was planted in was gritty, full of broken glass and empty promises and sirens at 2 AM, but it was still soil. I didn’t know it then, crying in my bedroom trying to make powder milk taste like the real thing, but all that shame was just fuel. It was building a fire in my belly that nobody could put out. The struggle wasn’t a stop sign, it was a starting line. I just didn’t know how far I was gonna run yet.

***

written by King poet

Look there’s a quiet that feels empty and then there’s that heavy quiet we got just a deep steady pull between us. It ain’t about keeping secrets or being scared to talk it’s just that real comfort we built grinding through the day. I ain’t even gotta reach for no fancy words or flex with clever lines to explain this vibe. It’s just that in-my-bones type recognition a glow that don’t ever turn off. Just straight up peace from finding that forever kind of knowing.

I know exactly how your energy shifts when things get dark and how you still manage to boss up and stand tall anyway. I got the whole blueprint to your scars and your biggest dreams and how you always find the rhythm even when things get cold. You don’t never gotta put on a front or play a character around me to keep my heart locked in. Cause I done seen the messy stuff the real grit and the struggle and I found nothing but straight holy fire burning in the middle of it all.

It’s crazy how we be finishing each other’s sentences before we even say em out loud. How we just patch up the pieces this world keeps trying to break. It’s that solid trust that don’t switch up even when the road gets bumpy a promise we stamped in the daylight that we definitely keeping. We like two different stories bound up in the exact same book understood completely with just one look. We way past that honeymoon phase hype and just found the real solid gravity of a living breathing truth.

So let everybody else go chasing whatever trending or shiny I’ll take the steady realness of just you being you. Ain’t nothing better in this life than being completely seen and loved for all the dark spots and everything in between. We built a whole safe house out of time where that trust just keeps growing and we just blooming in this forever kind of knowing. Through all the seasons changing and even when we start going gray I’m always gonna find my soul completely whole in this love we share.

written by King poet

Look I used to think I had a lock on my own chest man like I was calling all the shots of where I stand. Thought I could walk right through the fire and not even catch a burn thought I could stare at perfection and not even stutter its name. But nah you came through and straight up kicked down every single wall I spent years building up leaving my soul just sitting out here in the open completely faded and tripping off you. I ain’t even driving my own thoughts no more cause rent free every single corner of my brain is just occupied by you. You took over the whole vibe like a crazy heavy storm just melting down all my ice till everything is just fluid and warm.

I’m straight up consumed by you like your whole entire aura got me hooked. That blinding magic you walking around with got my eyes starving. Soon as you not around my skin start acting up feeling cold just aching for that heavy sultry grip you got on me. I be catching myself daydreaming bout the texture of them midnight sighs the way you arch up that wild hunger you get in your eyes. It’s a beautiful kind of torture man a real obsession running deep and true through my veins. It’s a fever and ain’t no medicine gonna quiet it down but you. I just wanna be buried underneath the avalanche of that smooth skin completely losing myself where your shadows spin.

I wanna breathe you in like oxygen till you the only thing I even know deadass just lock our bodies in and let the whole rest of the world blur out. Feel my chest thumping crazy against yours just straight unyielding loyalty that finally claimed its spot. I wanna trace my mouth down the whole length of your spine dropping burning kisses so you know exactly who you belong to. We way past the point of being logical now ain’t no U-turns on this ride we just tangled up in this wild electric rhythm. You swallowed my whole soul up set my blood on fire and I ain’t even trying to escape I’m a willing hostage to your highest desire.

So let the flames rise up let the whole world burn down cause long as I’m wrapped up in you I don’t need no kingdom or no crown. You my beautiful destruction my ultimate high my sacred truth and I’m just blissfully entirely consumed by you. When you finish reading this I want you to literally feel the final exhale of my breath knowing I’m yours 100 percent through this life and way past death.

> I am completely yours body and soul ain’t a single piece of me that ain’t burning for you aching for you and just entirely consumed by the thought of getting my hands on you tonight.

written by King poet

## The Friday Shift

The week tried to drain the battery, no lie.

Monday was heavy, Wednesday dragged its feet,

But we didn't fold when the pressure got real.

We just kept swinging, kept putting in the work.

Now the sun's hitting different on a Friday morning,

And the whole vibe is shifting from just surviving, to taking over.

Leave the stress sitting at the time clock.

Drop the heavy bags of doubt you’ve been lugging around all week.

Today isn't just the finish line of the grind,

It’s the kickoff to everything we've been pushing for.

The energy is electric today. You can literally feel it in the air.

We aren't just coasting into the weekend; we’re kicking the door down.

So catch your breath and look back for a second.

Look at all the hurdles you already cleared over the last few days.

You’re still standing, still moving, still in the game.

Let the weekend be your peace, but let today be your proof—

You’re built for the long haul, and you don't quit.

Now step into the light and go get exactly what’s yours.

---

**Written by King Poet**

A one-way Road To Your Heart

***

I tossed the GPS and torched the bridge.

No lie, I couldn't keep moving like the guy I used to be.

Saw a spark in the dark and suddenly, things just clicked.

There are no U-turns now, no off-ramps back to my old BS,

Whether this hurts or heals, I'm riding it out.

I ditched the traffic and the noise,

Just putting my whole tired soul in the hands of whatever this is.

We're on a ride that doesn't end, and honestly?

It’s a straight-up, one-way trip to your heart.

I don't need a rearview mirror to obsess over my history,

Or a map pointing out every single time I messed up.

That dust is settled, and right now,

The only thing stuck in my head is the rhythm of you breathing.

Every mile is pure grace, every bridge is built on real trust,

Rising way above the everyday static.

Even the weeds on the side of the road are hitting different right now,

Soaking up the sun.

It’s just good energy and open skies,

Pulling me straight into who you really are.

If life throws up roadblocks or the water gets too high,

I’ll just look in your eyes and figure a way through.

I bagged up my lonely nights, locked away the cold,

And traded it all for a story nobody’s ever lived before.

Because loving you isn't some fleeting phase; it's locked in.

Loud as lightning but calm as deep water.

I’m cruising right into the sunrise, vision 20/20,

Both hands tight on the wheel.

No more wandering, no more spinning my tires.

Just this one-way, non-stop ride straight to you.

---

**Written by King Poet**