Five Mile Radius

This poetic expression arose from various perceptions. Amazement at how so much deception lies within such a small section. The Blast Zone. A five mile radius. That’s ten miles in diameter. 360 Degrees of social massacre. The epicenter. A high school campus where, if ignorance is bliss, the majority of the population is perfect. Where the administration is a bit autocratic. Where suspension, Saturday school, and police intervention is automatic. Where students put the "high" in high school. Where the day ends at 2:40 and the real world begins. 4.8 miles South of the Epicenter lies one of the most successful neighborhoods. Countless stories of triumph and achievement. Home made millionaires headed to Havasu hanging around holistic honorable human beings. Charitable patrons guaranteeing the well being of the less fortunate. But if only they knew. 5.8 Miles to the North. A small 3 bedroom 1 and 1/2 bathroom house inhabited by a 16 year old philosophical mind. A neighborhood defined by welfare, unemployment, violence, minorities, and countless stories of failure. 4 houses down a 9 year old died of cancer. 1 block away 6 bullets were the answer to a 14 year old boy. 2.4 miles northwest a homegrown hero was slain in cold blood. Where thugs murder to claim blocks and slang rocks. But the only block they’ll ever own is their tombstone. The list goes on. I know you see me. I know you hear me. But are you really listening? Everything within the five mile radius is connected. Take any section and dissect it. Any way you want. I cant sit here nonchalant while the facts remain there and taunt. Its up to me and you to change them. Its sends chills up my brain stem. We live within the five mile radius But the five mile radius does not live within us.