Ivory Schemes

Yasmilka Clase

Crystalized powder forms a fog around a mother
who coddles her baby girl to sleep
cement pebbles bind to Janine’s feet
shattered glass creates a mosaic haven
panels of plywood protect her family of two

Grey wolves prowl on West 145th Street
they hunger for the fragmented Janine
they feast on her desperation to provide
a home in a decomposed brownstone
that fades along the Harlem River side 

This place, our place, once filled with
patterns of people
has now become broken
by ivory schemes

Yasmilka Clase is a poet/writer, from the Bronx, studying poetry in the MFA program at City College. She currently runs an online business inspired by her poetic journey to try and make the creative world more inclusive to those that feel like an outsider looking in. Find her on IG @poetic.yaz @creatively.yaz.