This Urban Maze
by Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton
River Birch South wakes. The
beat yawns through neo-liberal
lies, rhetoric, and blood-red
skyline. The beat hums that
fire. Hums, stretches, and plays
sweetly into black, wireless
earbuds. Bass is a preacher,
standing behind a mahogany
podium, pulsing with aims and
ambitions, crafting a steady
rhythm, a hustler getting to
the money. I carve out a way.
Carve out a way to navigate
empty space, empty noise,
paying attention to loud silences,
speaking with Malcolm X’s
conviction. Aspirations are
something serious—sounds
circling my imagination, like
B sides on hip hop singles
from the 90’s. This smile—
a hostile reminder—that
tomorrow waits for no man,
running laps around sunlight.
beat yawns through neo-liberal
lies, rhetoric, and blood-red
skyline. The beat hums that
fire. Hums, stretches, and plays
sweetly into black, wireless
earbuds. Bass is a preacher,
standing behind a mahogany
podium, pulsing with aims and
ambitions, crafting a steady
rhythm, a hustler getting to
the money. I carve out a way.
Carve out a way to navigate
empty space, empty noise,
paying attention to loud silences,
speaking with Malcolm X’s
conviction. Aspirations are
something serious—sounds
circling my imagination, like
B sides on hip hop singles
from the 90’s. This smile—
a hostile reminder—that
tomorrow waits for no man,
running laps around sunlight.
Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton is an award-winning poet, educator, and publisher. Lofton is the author of more than 35 collections of poetry and more than 177 spoken word albums. His poems have appeared in Clock House Journal, Revenge, UpStreet, Experience Reality Magazine, Quay, Dissident Voice, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Mid-Atlantic Review, and Blue-Collar Review. In 2024, his poem “To Honor Her Bold Walk” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He earned both a B.A. in Creative Writing (2004) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (2006) from Goddard College. He holds teaching positions at Chesapeake Bay Academy, Norfolk State University, and Elizabeth City State University.