More Proof Why Poetry Matters

One of the activities I enjoy most about the writing poetry is being commissioned to write works for a meaningful events. Almost like completing a puzzle, It’s satisfying to find just the right concepts for the occasion, just the right words, and being able to recite it to an audience that is eager to receive what I’ve created just for them.

Yesterday, I had the honor of standing before a crowd of women in South Los Angeles—sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers —to share my poem “These Mean Streets,” which was commissioned for the Women’s empowerment event, with a special emphasis on mothers who lost children to gain violence.. The event was about empowerment, the kind that’s hard-earned and fought for—the kind that rises from disappointment, heartbreak, and struggle, and still dares to believe in hope and possibility.

Since I don’t have personal experience with the subject matter, I was inspired to draw a universal experience of heartache that women often encounter during the seasons of our lives. “These Mean Streets” was born from that ache—the quiet, familiar pain that women carry through life’s transitions. It speaks to the unspoken grief of dreams deferred, of children lost, of promises broken, and yet it’s not a poem about defeat. It’s a poem about endurance, about the sacred resilience that keeps us walking, even when the road beneath us feels tenuous and cruel.

Reading it aloud yesterday, I could feel the energy in the room shift. Eyes met. Heads nodded. Tears fell quietly. It reminded me why I write—to name what we often silence, to make space for healing in the presence of truth.

If you’ve ever walked through your own “mean streets,” know this: you are not alone. Pain is a passage, not a destination. And even on the hardest days, we are still capable of creating light from what tried to break us, and find the power to become free. 

You can see me reciting "Mean Streets" on Instagram @sonyakayblakegallery and purchase the ebook by clicking the button below. Let's keep on reading, writing, and supporting others on this journey.