All I wanted to do was rap
Entertain you with my words
Because I had something to say
And that brought me joy
But they silenced me
I became a victim
of mistaken identity
Had me fighting for me life
This is our America
Remember my words
Which will never die
What cowards!
Riding around the hood
Killing us from the passenger seat
Don’t you know that the cops
Are going to sniff you out?
Take you away one by one
Lock you up with the rest
Education is what they want to hide from us
And they are succeeding
Kept you from knowing the truth
Brothers caught up in friendly-fire
Keeping us from multiplying
Read your history pages
1865 all over again
To my babies
I love you
Mama will always love you
Even when I am not here anymore
Let my life be a lesson to your sweet souls
Life is not always pretty
You will encounter people who are thoughtless
Who remain ignorant of cause and effect
I am erased permanently from your life
So always remember how precious life is
Your life and others
Become an example to our people
March against the grain
Make mama proud
I leave behind my family
Those who loved me
Tears will forever flow today
Of my life ending so suddenly
Now that I am gone
I hope that the brothers will awaken
To see that the glitter that they dangle
Before our eyes
Has us mesmerized
Doing murderous acts
So they don’t have to
Yes, we are killing ourselves off
So they don’t have to
WAKE UP BROTHERS!
I would like time to stop
And for Miles to continue to play
While Chivas Regal relaxes me
Giving me the courage to say
The things I’ve always wanted to say
Like “Hey Sugar, I really like to get to know you”
But I’m afraid
So I take another sip
And listen to the piano player play
Thinking tomorrow is another day
And that day turns into tomorrow
And Miles is still playing
Trebling
Afraid to step another step
Her knees connected with the ground
And she began to part the earth
Tenderly with her hands
Making room for all of her emotional belongings
She removed her kindness
Her womanly softness
Her trust
Uncoupled her vulnerability
And natural sensitivity
She now stood naked
Feeling hollow
Like a dead Paulownia Dragon tree
She rose to her feet
Feeling a sense of nothingness
Flowing through her veins
And looked downward at her buried jewels
Because of men
Because of men
Because of men
Now is the time to explore the world. Activity, voice, and fearlessness. It is now time to start my projects. The first will be to publish a poetry book. My goal is over the next several months write 100 poems.
I have awakened
From a deep somber sleep
And the alarm is still singing
Ten thousand voices are calling my name
For fear that I will fall asleep again
What was it that I swallowed?
It must have been that bullshit you were feeding me
But my eyes are wide open now
And my nostrils are as large as
Metropolitan sewer plates
Taking in the foul stench that you still leave behind
Every time your lips part
I am not a reflection of your negative image
But of a more positive one created
by me
As my worthiness has been located
In the place that you never thought I would find
Within
Close enough that allows you to continue
To medicate the masses
I have discovered my own voice
And it leaves behind a much desirable scent
That people can comfortable bear
And even embrace
Because truth has much great value
And is much easier
for children to swallow
Drawn to that rainbow horizon line
That sparkles and glitters in a distance
I begin to walk
Boldly
Following the multitude of footsteps
Which are imprinted in the sands of now time
Like a brigade of walking soldiers
And I must now wake the other sleeping souls
Who were fed the same bullshit
Who continue to sleep in the same fetal position
Yes, I have awakened
To the sound of ten thousand voices calling my name
I was asking for change
Change in our attitudes
So I offered my life
You can keep my cup
And all the pennies that trailed
To the alley where I was found
Walk backwards
And you’ll find pieces of me
Collected together
Still won’t make sense
That is why we must change
October 17th, 2009
Another brother sleeps
Forever
Shot dead
Officially at 4:05 a.m.
That’s what the coroner said
while zipping up his black body bag
Englewood
Your neighborhood flag has risen
another six feet
As you continue to pile up
your own brothers
stack em high and tall
not deep
before going back to sleep