The worldโs wicked ways,
dominate the front page.
Murderous rage,
is taking its toll.
Black folk,
for whom the bell tolls.
Black skin,
eradicated by black souls.
Precious last breaths from our bodies,
They stole.
Parade body after body,
Hoping they made our hearts turn cold.
Media shows the fatal violenceโฆ
But media is expert at staying silent.
Into the trash can,
these stories, they pile in.
Lost to the annals of history after they file them.
As I grow older,
thick grows the folder.
Messengers of hate, they grow bolder.
Fires are burning,
where they once smoldered.
Feelings ignored,
come to the fore.
Against black and brown skin,
not to mention the poor.
Hates back with a vengeance,
and itโs on a world tour.
I donโt think it ever left thoughโฆ
They sent vicious dogs at our necks bro.
Not even fifty years ago, they had us in scopes.
aiming to maim us,
because they saw us as foes.
Life as a black man feels like
one long flirtation with death row.
Grimโs cousin avoids meโฆ
Scared Iโll wake up to my death throes.
Keep a black man down,
before he takes whats yours.
Today you bring up race,
folks start to snore.
They say , โHey,
yโall so much farther than yโall were before.โ
But fail to mention,
weโve yet to walk through that door.
Of equality,
equal opportunity,
the ability for us to just be,
to max out our potential,
somewhere to be really free.
I gotta tell my black son,
our black face,
is not the preference for race.
Means in this place,
donโt have too much fun.
Know your 2nd amendment rights,
but donโt have a gun.
And even if you scared for your life,
Pleaseโฆ.
Donโt run.
Theyโll put two in your back,
leave your body to fry in the sun.
Somehow,
afterwards, they will blame it on you.
If you had been more polite,
If only you hadnโt been rudeโฆ
Paint you as a troubled child,
Their colors call you a brute.
History decided,
from how they picture your hue.
Theyโll put you down like an animal.
And in these trying times,
I donโt have the stamina.
To see blacks fall,
like tree leaves on camera.
Iโm sick and Iโm tired of these gory stories.
The depression is kicking in for me.
How can you lie your life happily,
when your tv screenโs inundated with tragedies?
Folks would rather look at fashion week.
Let me educate you with my theoryโฆ
Folks obsessed with having power,
if the big picture gets clearer,
itโll make them much sicker.
The common man will start to figure,
the more they know,
they lose their understanding quicker.
So to enjoy life,
they try to ignore strife.
Take their perspective,
put it under the knife.
Whittle it down to minimize frowns.
Just so they can make it through life.
Want to educate them,
make them think twice.
But I cannot blame them when I know their plight.
Born in the frying pan, thrown into the fire.
No role models there to inspire.
No pensions,
because you can never retire.
Not to mention the tension
when you aspire for higherโฆ
No one wants to see you make that crab bucket lighter.
powerful and emotional