LèMAR

the seventh and final installment of the seven part series KAMERON

o, LèMar

grace over gumbo, gutter water under the stars
lower ninth ward nights, lightning bugs behind broken bars
youngest of eight in a shotgun shack with splintered faith
where the hallway narrow as mercy and the rent due date

his daddy was a rolling stone, gravel-tone promises
left betty with babies and a bible full of consequences
no goodbye kiss, just exhaust in the dawn
eight little mouths and a man withdrawn
see, abandonment plant seeds in the softest soil
turn a tender boy’s loyalty into loyal-toil
keith learned quick—when love leave, don’t grieve it
you either chase it down or you never believe it

betty packed the car, stacked hope in the backseat
new orleans heat traded for dallas concrete
south oak cliff, rough edges and red dirt
apartments with sirens singing bedtime alerts
he met his first wife between lockers and late bells
high school hallways, hormones and wedding veils
pregnant pause, responsibility ringing
so he signed his name to the navy and saluted the beginning

ocean salt, cold vault heart, discipline drilled in his chest
couple babies at home, letters folded in a vest
did his time, came back sharp—
war don’t wash off when it etch in the dark
ptsd like a leash on his temper
nightmares looping december to december
so he strapped on a badge, traded camo for command
security shifts, police work, law in his hand
climbed ranks, chief of police, authority loud
from the shotgun shack to a squad car crowd

but power feel good when you powerless first
validation quench what abandonment thirst
he started feelin’ himself, mirror talk reckless
running the streets while the vows turned restless
still married when a homie said, “i know someone special.”
her name was dannita, soft voice, celestial
1998, secret dates when he could escape
two lives overlapping like a poorly drawn drape

by ’99, life growing inside her
she moved back to her mama’s in oak cliff—no rider
halfway through the pregnancy, truth hit vicious
he was married with a house full of hidden wishes
whole other family, framed photos, christmas
she carried betrayal like a second trimester sickness
by the time kameron arrived, they divided
love split open, trust uninvited

fast forward—granny house raising the child
south oak cliff soil, pain running wild
away from siblings he never knew breathed
family tree with branches concealed by deceit
2010, the day after vows were renewed
keith’s second wedding, white dress, new view
kameron met bloodlines under chandeliers bright
while his mama dannita wept through the night
because it wasn’t her in the aisle of that church
truth be told, she dodged a hearse

resentment fermenting in an eight-year-old chest
eight dollars total, that was all they possessed
two-for-99 cents at popeyes counter light
splitting biscuits while keith lived right
see, hunger don’t just growl in the gut
it echo in pride when the fridge stay shut
kameron wanted to hurt who hurt his queen
anger sixteen before he turned thirteen

big homies whispering, streets recruiting
pain loves company, trauma saluting
but something sacred started sprouting instead
ink in a notebook where vengeance once bled
he wrote to survive, every line a release
turned wrath into rhythm, found refuge in peace
sixteen—first poem published, a prodigy
coal under pressure make diamond geology

pay attention—
if keith never strayed with his lustful decisions
never split households, never doubled his vision
if betty never packed that car with conviction
if dannita never cried through that friction
if eight dollars never stretched like belief
if a boy never wrestled with inherited grief

then maybe the pen never sharpened that tight
maybe the diamond stay buried in the night
you take broken vows and you fold them in fate
add abandonment issues and let it marinate
give a child a notebook instead of a gun
let him choose what to carry, what to become

see, God a true comedian, cosmic with timing
turn sin into sonnets, make trauma start rhyming
reverse the curse and rehearse the intent
sometimes a father’s flaw is a son’s cement

because if keith was faithful, stable, and kept it restrained
no side stories scribbled to escape the pain
then the pressure that polished the prose
never would’ve hardened the coal

and the greatest writer of the generation—
might’ve never been born.

Kameron LéMar.

“every new beginning is the opportunity for a new ending”

"now put it all in reverse"

---

i do not own the rights to this photo. don’t sue me gang.