Poems by North Dartmouth Poet Kali JJ Williams

As presented at the North Dartmouth public consultations. Printed with permission of the author.

North end

When I moved here the first thing I noticed was the diversity
There were black, white and brown faces all occupying the same spaces
No matter where we came from no one felt displacement
It didn’t matter where you started as long as the north was the end
This is the place people come to make forever friends
It may not be perfect but loving the north is definitely worth it
From Pinecrest to Victoria road there are hundreds of stories to be told
The real hook is who listens, who will be able to glisten in the light of success
The ones who pave the way will forever be loved by the rest, they put our true abilities to the test
– Kali J.J Williams

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2 Worlds In 1

When it comes to speaking of north end I feel as if there is two worlds in one
The first world is the one I know, north end at its finest. My natural climate
The welcome is always warm, we dance in the rain and when one of us is hurt we all share in
the pain
The world I know is community, the symbol of unity
See even tho I’m not north end born I’m still a north end baby, stories from my dad and uncles
about the 80’s still amaze me
The memories of nights at the club where we would play the older boys 3 on 1
See I’m not north end born but I am north end bound, the sounds of sirens through the night let
me know some type of protection is around

This second world I hear of is one I’ve never seen, it’s known as the media portrayal of
everyday folks like you and me
See they call us criminals, thugs and like to tell stories that we’d mug just anyone
What they won’t tell you is that we feel safer on our streets than anywhere else they say we
should be
This second world is the one filled with nothing but bad stories because for some reason the
media always leaves out the glory
We’ve got millions of tales to tell so I never understood how they claim to know us so well
Drugs, addiction and housing complaints are just some of the things they say to give our name
a taint
But if you wanna get real let’s really talk
The government loves to talk but can never match it with a walk
Let’s bring our focus to something they may notice, let’s talk about our schools
You know the places where we are supposed to be equipped with tools
How can we use the tools when the conveyer belt used to receive them stops moving
Stuck with ripped up hopes and dreams of our parents and those who came before us whose
needs weren’t met
Let’s talk about how the classrooms are always filled with diverse students and very cookie
cutter teachers
Let’s talk about the lack of representation that leaves us looking for where our place is
They want us to love learning but does the education system love us
There’s no one for us to relate too, home struggles can already make it hard to focus
Every once in a while you’ll get a teacher who may notice
But what about the rest of us
Those who never get an indication of love and care

Who will be there
All kids deserve to graduate, deserve to say that they have overcome with a positive fate
As you can see this is truly a tale of two worlds in one
Both are realistic but I ask you do you really know north end or have you jumped the gun

– Kali J.J Williams