Poet, Photographer, Creative
She gave him the gift that keeps on giving
So he just trying to keep on living
Had to explain it to his siblings
But he can’t even understand his feelings
Doing his best to cope with it
He gets higher than the ceiling
He pop pills and smoke dope with it
He probably about to be evicted
He can’t work as much as he used to
Can’t keep his grades up at his new school
He has so much he’s going through
But he wears designer clothes and a smile to fool you
You dishonor the father and your mother
When you murder your own brothers over colors
We become fools instead of royalty
When you as a queens doubt your kings
We become weaker as men if you listen
To how we speak down on our women
And trade the name bitch for their givens
One thing I learned…
You get what you earn
Polo and Jordan’s but mama struggling
Designer doesn’t mean anything when family still suffering
I just want to be left alone
To go outside and not be ran up on
I want to feel protected when I see police
Not like if they catch me alone they might kill me
I don’t deserve that no one does
For the same reason Rosa kept her place on that bus
I am not less than a white male
I don’t belong in the cages you refer to as jail
My skin tone does not render me useless
I wasn’t born to hang from nooses
I’m not a thing for cops to kill and be abusive
My skin may be dark
But their hearts are darker
I should not be a civil rights martyr
I’m Eric a father and husband
I should not have been choked to death like my life meant nothing
I am Michael a son and a brother
I should not have been shot nor should my parents have to suffer
I am Trayvon and I just wanted to go home
My friend should not have heard me die on the phone
I am Tamir and I just wanted to play
The police shouldn’t have killed me and let my body lay
If I could be white for just an hour
I’d tell the police how #BlackLivesMatter just as much as ours
But I’m black for the rest of my life and that’s fine with me
I just ask that police protect our communities peacefully
We snatch
We swing
We scratch
We scream
Say things
We don’t mean
In the end
We cling
To each other…
I’ve seen spirits.
Never met them nor spoke.
But been in there company.
We’ve looked eye to figure
Some were even recognizable
Grandmother, Pop, aunt Ethel.
I watched them watch me.
Uninterrupted analysis of each other
I noticed them, they knew me
They’ve watched me grow
Skinny and big ears
Now they see my progress
Tall, healthy as an ox
Their spirits protect me
Guide me
Nurture me
I’ve seen spirits.
Too Distinct 