What happened to the fairies in the woods?

A Narrative of the forgotten neighborhood, Fairywood.

By Marcè Nixon-Washington

I only saw a few fairies in my lifetime.
Those still living between Mazette Place and Fairywood Street.

Elder fairy said…
This land once flourished with cars and fairies dancing along the streets.
Other than the industrial trucks,
I only heard the sound of the wind blowing through the apple tree.
Silence.
So loud, that when a rat picks from the grass
sirens must ring.

Elder fairy said…
In the beginning
There were fairies in the mist.
There were white fairies, black fairies, purple, orange and blue.
They were from many places like Italy, Jamaica, descendants of Africa too.
Those who spread the fairy dust of music,
and those who fed the poor barbecue.
Elder fairy said…
Even after, white flight became a trend,
You could spot the light of the world
on the West End.
Westgate Village and Broadhead Manor were the places most of them lived in.
Ujima and Fairywood School were just around the bend,
at The Salvation Army is where the fairies reascend.

Elder fairy said…
It was in the 1970’s when the apocalypse began to hit.
One road out, one way in.
The wonderland became,
a pit
a trap
and… a Petri dish.

We knew that, the God of the mountain
Is the God of the valley.
But, when crack came
It had a façade
to cure
the poverty
When the Warehouses wouldn’t hire Black folk.
It had the façade
to cure the
Hunger
PTSD
Anxiety
and Depression.

Elder fairy said…
They ain’t call it no epidemic,
They called it the war on drugs.
Passing prejudice laws,
instead of offering jobs.
They criminalized the men
leaving single women and children
Mass incarcerated black and brown bodies.
Another form of slavery,
supported by the law.

Elder fairy said…
We should have seen it coming!
We should have known,
they wanted to steal the stolen land back!

Elder fairy said…
She seen the end when,
They tried to make the Black folk, folk
Like the Hurricane Ivan folktale.
How does the southernmost place
flood more than the northernmost place
from the creek?
The Orchard tree said
the truth will set you free!
Fairies say
Eco-warfare

Elder fairy said…
We really should have seen it coming!
30 years prior, when
That industrial highway was
Abandoned
Much like how we are now.
We should have seen it coming!
5 years prior, the PAT bus started to make just 2 stops.
10 years prior, the Giant Eagle and the Hill’s went.
20 years prior, we had to live in homes with bullet holes from centuries ago.

Elder fairy said…
It’s all just a show.
Them abandoned lots for sale,
Are already sold.
It’s the billion dollar gimmick.