Poetry 4 The Streets

creator, don’t give me the power of a coward wisdom of a fool give me the power of a warrior wisdom of an elder 2 fight for freedom give me the power and courage for when the oppressor sentences me 2 death for my eyes 2 remain open when he swings the sword to die in honor than 2 live a life of shame please help mold me so my struggle will be just cut down and kill all my weaknesses let my vision be the strength for a new humanity death before dishonor my soul stands above mortal man i am a warrior an afrikan warrior who walks among the gods will not lay with the devil i carry the tools of the revolution work, study and a rifle i strive for land the basis of all independence have no time for scandalous niggers who can’t bring about change have no time for the club that can’t bring about change have no time for clown niggers who can’t bring about change i study how 2 take life in order 2 bring forth life i study destructiyon for instruction you see, man has lost his ethics and virtues the only language he understands is 2 take by hand, by knife and gun so i build my mind and body so others will know the only taking will be done by me i realize my road is death my road is victory i stand and look within 2 the creator some elders say ‘the way of the warrior is death” if so, let me die an afrikan warrior.

Your mama so black  Your mama so black  Your mama so black She’s beautiful  1 Your mama so black She’ll fight the bloods and crips Your mama so black She’ll fight the nypd Your mama so black She’ll laugh  When they read her rights Your mama so black Anyone harm her children  Your mama so black  Your stomach  Never knew hunger Your mama so black U never believed Santa down a chimney  Your mama so black Your pops called her a bitch  she ate it Your mama so black Your woman is black

who is the man in your eyes with the gun your creator of pain the reason behind not loving me not wanting 2 be loved you cry at the same time each night call out his name when you’re holding me sister, i understand understand that he is gone and you must let go who is the man in your eyes with the gun do you love him more than me tell me, sister tell me about this man (widow speaking:) see, i remember him more than god he laid his pain on my lap and laughed it was wrapped in my husband’s blood-stained shirt his blood gripped around his body not wanting 2 let go god cries every time i speak my pain i never had a chance 2 hold my fiancé 2 say i love you one last time the gun hugged him, kissed him on his forehead his heart, his stomach, and had an orgy on his body made passionate love and he came blood i never had a chance 2 really get 2 know his strengths 2 learn his faults my memory of him is incomplete all i remember is his savior who used his gun as a cross forced me 2 walk into hell god, have you fallen in love with him yet? has his smile made u smile does he tell you jokes that make you laugh all night are you happy now that you took him from me his children still wait for the sound of his keys for him 2 talk of his pains so they can snatch them and change them into love “when is papa coming home,” they ask and i say, “never” he’s talking 2 god now he has a new home and they cry tears that yell louder than their father’s screams so who is this man in my eyes with the gun? it’s my fiancé’s savior the one who makes his family cry at 10:45 pm every night they say he is only 19 my fiancé was only 25 and i will cry the rest of my life.

silver bracelets lock afrikans killed returned 2 living hell as i walk thru the valley of death i can hear the laughter see the gossip being yelled from open windows ms. so-and-so’s son has fallen fallen from perfection, as they see it their cracker god gave me twenty-five-2-life each day is a blow 2 my soul each day, i forget the purpose of living this is where afrikan screams, yells can be heard as men jerk their dicks waiting for that reminder of loved ones young victims are made into bitches that suck dick and cry at the same time i hear their yells and shiver how many times can a man die? each day is a new death each midnight is when they pronounce me dead Jesus does not hang on my walls i killed him every time i needed someone 2 release my pain on i stabbed him in my mind ‘til jah could not take no more and pulled me away i see her face a loved one i will never see again her letters 2 me are kidnapped and molested by the prison guards by the time i touch them, they are not pure no more your love has died all that remains are words that curse me speak of my son who will never touch me who dies in my mind everyday his tears from his face have disappeared, i wonder why all i can do is cry as my cell mate’s bed squeaks and he moans like a billie holiday record i look 2 the ceiling and see my executioner i see the seconds stand there and smile i try 2 picture in my mind ways i could have changed them and hid them, change time death kicks my dream 2 the ground as the executioner places silver bracelets on my hand seconds laugh so now everyday becomes a struggle every morning i see the same walls i pray for the end of the world so i can escape my death people ask me, “do you feel any pain, any shame for killing him” i say, “you was not there when they trained me 2 be a killer, all you can see is my victim’s pain” society laughs, they blame their crimes on me 2 blame the cracker is a crime they blame me for tears formed in my eyes, they never fall when i hear my victim’s screams for some reason when i pulled the trigger it was meant 2 be i bathed in his blood and looked into his lover’s eyes and saw that i would be remembered more than him i became equal 2 Jah i became equal 2 Jesus i became the one thing his widow could touch her living dream i brought my pain and laid it at her lap when i killed him so now i walk thru living hell and fear no evil when i close my eyes, i see children crying in dark churches mothers dressed in black looking out windows for their loved ones 2 come home fathers at bars cursing my name i open my eyes and see saviors men who will never be forgotten i’m the one Malcolm never touched, Martin never saw, Jesus never had hope for am i a victim or a man who runs thru the street looking for someone 2 blame i don’t know each day becomes darker and darker until i can’t see but hear screams that get louder and louder i finally realize it’s me i’m only 19 19 years old serving twenty-five-2-life.

think it started over a pull of some shit we picked up from the incense shop on 125 as i rubbed your thighs tried 2 feel your wetness as you press breaks accelerated hit the highway north 2 catch the twelve-2-twelve action as your panties got soaked before i closed the hotel doors she’s my nigger my peep in any situation this sister would pull triggers for her man go 2 war for her nigger we got each other’s back like shakur’s roll deep like afrika’s tell punk niggers to move she can create lines with a wink we be our own clique step in rooms walk streets watch eyes be on our shit can have whole conversations on nicks and dimes jamaica in the sands weed fields we got mad herb in our dreams i leave battlefields when i’m in her arms leave clips all that shit be on safety as i hold her hips i can breathe when i’m with my sister who would go 2 war pull triggers for her nigger just needed someone 2 believe in the dream in our dreams i would go all out for you there is not a life time bid i wouldn’t do for you i promise you the world no fuckery ever come home vexed no arguments but when we let the devil into our home we’ll just take mad pulls of the skunk in heaven meditate on our beauty as i rub your nappy hair and reflect on the first touch the first rub the reason we became 1 like souljahs on the battlefield we only got each other, nigger niggers cry that shit they would die for you but i will always live for you live 2 just bite those blunt blunted lips take pulls of your shit finger love you ‘til i soak you and i’m ready 2 go in share love in the struggle feel you in the battle if we separate in the war if i die you die we’ve lived some shit 250,000,000 afrikans died for don’t cry, love i won’t cry, love this world ain’t big enough 2 bury black love our love will bury them grow weed fields as our children lick weed in a bush take mad pulls and reminisce about mommy and daddy souljahs who lived and died for niggers so niggers ain’t gotta die no more but live as afrikans live as one.

what do you care if a black dies  reflections of me die everyday dead before meant to 21 death day i rot inside my mama’s womb smell the flesh of botched abortions  where my brother and sister died  i’m the 3rd this year to sit on this cold floor in my mama’s house  the cradle of civilization  dead souls tell me only long beeps were heard after they took their first breaths eyes so small never opened but could feel young crackers smile  at the chance to cut open little Afrikans and discover ways to kill them faster my mommy smokes crack if she didn’t kill me your son would over a chain the pig cop  over his manhood she smokes because of pain i smoke because i live thru her breaths and all she inhales is the cracker’s genocide i heard screams from two brothers on the outside  cursed my moms told her the corner stopped hiring they have heart but their man was blown away the night before  so courage fired them but poverty paid them off the books so drug kingpin protects his and warns twice but catches them on the third go around and lays there remains on Malcolm x blvd so all would understand you have to pay takes you have 2 pay your dues 2 be the boss and they came up short so now i know big brothers won’t toss me around break up fights when i call for help because they gone where i just came from i kick and scream for the white rocks she feeds me every half hour but mama changed the formula without telling me  it’s a little stronger take small sips or o.d. and flush down the toilet will be my fate i’m so small i could slip no one would know i look out windows and see ugly do or die where we do what we’re told and work 2 be poor i go crazy wondering if my skin is light or dark only touching hair knowing it’s not good  because my mama cried about hers many nights  i know i will make you cry 2, mama because i know i’m ugly no mirrors hang in this dark cell i come from a father who hustled and sold and screwd over some bigger fools money so caps were pulled daddy was left capless daddy changed mama into a beggar  begging from 2 to 5 on F trains stomach big but crumbs still given as the smell makes some dumb fool cover her mouth  like the handkerchief is going 2 make my poverty disappear dumb fool my mama’s hungry and u gave her a  quarter five 2 eight we sleep in front car or lay with conductor after 8 we have 2 run from men who love dirty vagina without asking so eyes remain open as we run the streets looking for money 2 shoot up last month’s rent was smoked away she 6 months but i feel like coming 3 months early  2 help her poor black woman ain’t pro-choice  no choice  if no funds and now heroin fills my mind as a trick pounds into vagina  2 sad 2 get wet  so dry and tight  as he moans i see what most black men  call manhood looks dirty, dried-up tool worthless against crackers that rule with brains and guns mama’s 2 numb 2 tell him 2 pull out mama, i hope he pays u because i need a pull i can’t sleep  and the room has no food left and it’s cold mama, i hope he pays you  so we can eat  good, mama paid loot give loot find corner underground railroad mama don’t cry i’ll find a dark vein and push it 2 the surface  just feed me stick it in i can we can sleep now 3 months became 2 weeks i will see this world that killed 2 brothers like they were supposed 2  but i come a week in advance hospital still crowded with friday’s arguments  bleeding on a saturday night my mama screams on a stretcher confused the high is needed she forgot about me not knowing i died 15 minutes ago i’m just laying here waiting 2 be buried  i overdose on 400 years  of pain  as crackers smile knowing they will cut me open one grabs my mother  as she screams and tells her your baby boy is dead on arrival.

god, i need 2 talk 2 u 2 know if it’s true what that little brother said standing out in the cold as that old lady tried 2 give him a paper hat said, “believe in jesus” and he said, “fuck that shit; god only gives me pain” god, i always wanted 2 ask you why when you saw the hundreds of millions of Africans dying you never helped why did you let so many Afrikans die? god stands there in silence i see the tears begin 2 fall and he screams, “who loved me? you blame me for crimes i never committed for the evil committed by man i cried out 2 my children for love they turned their backs and hung a cracker on their walls took millions of years of spirituality said it wasn’t sophisticated enough called my love primitive, his scientific so now that his system killed and enslaved you you blame me, you turn your back 2 me who do i cry 2 millions of years of ‘fuck you’ is all i ever heard “i still loved you i sent Jesus, Harriet, Marcus, Malcolm, and martin each one of my angels you killed and turned away” i begin 2 cry 2 and Harriet and nat exchange war stories and they speak of the betrayal and Harriet yells, “get aboard, the train is coming” and harriet and nat laugh with a sick laugh ‘cause nigs still try 2 jump the turnstile without paying “i tried 2 save you i tried 2 save Afrika but like George Jackson, i sit in this dark cell i tried 2 save Afrika i tried 2 save u but y’all turned your back on me to take the cracker’s god and now heaven ain’t nothing but a dark cell where Afrikans cry all day soon, brother Israel. you will cry here 2.”

If the sun gets to close We will wither away If its waters to much it rots and decays Cop called and word are exchanged  Arguing and such emotions in play Face to face  The push and shove The threat of aids the threat of blood They place on hands the latex gloves Flash lights and radios Batons and sprays Tasers and mase Its all for pain Oh god Oh lord Oh Jesus The angels whispers and screamed  As the devel laughed and the demons danced The suns of men The daughters of women That could do no harm They get 10000 dollar rewards if you done them wrong They aint for me They not for you Protect corporate America interest this is true Serve the interest of the rich is what they do When I take one step there’s no turning back to you A coward is common But we all have the chance to be brave You have to accept to be made a slave Look me in my my eyes and as they choke me to death May you hear my screams in your nightmares every night We could stop this right now make it right Dig deep within with me fight Resist take that pen dig out a eye Im asking Im pleading Please Don’t just stand there and let them kill me in front of you Some use there sticks Some use threre arms Cut of my air Tell you stay calm Lifted off sidewalks As my eyes they bulge Surround by bloods Surrounded by crips Some folks and shit I foam at the mouth I gasp for sweet air They yell they scream The cops no care No one fights They just look and stare Terror in there eyes  Hearts filled with fear As I’m choking to death Only seconds is left Now is your chance Grab there ear  Push grab there hair Grab there legs Do what you can I beg I plead Please don’t stand there and let them kill me in front of you Some got cells they record it all Anthony bias again for all of y’all In front of moms In front of pops In front of sis Brothers and such Neighbors stood and watched Chocked to death by cops Fear it grips You can’t move to help But don’t your music Celebrate people gettting kilt Ain’t every conversation  I’ll fuck Such and such up Don’t you wanna war But not with cops I ask u all Is you not my friend  Riding in my whip Walk the streets in our timbs  If I must meet the brute of amerikkka force If it be nights  And all in sight If we must push If we must shove  If it escalate to where the be must die Will u do more than stand and cry Grab your phone and point Will you be like me Mumia when he saw his brother getting beat by cops  Grab a gun Grab a knife  Or use your hands and pick your fight Please don’t stare  Just yell and scream  And plead for my life Fight for my life  Fight cause it’s right Let’s live tonight All I ask  I beg I plead Please  Don’t just stand there and let them kill me in front of you   

my grandpa asked me,  “where is your brother”  “with his new girlfriend” grandpa said, “a nigger 2 pussy  is like a carrot 2 a donkey;  follow her around like an ass” grandpa’s throne was a crate mine was the ground the sun was getting closer 2 the earth  the children had finished school and started playing in the park when the dogs’ away the cats will play we got the jig masters the fiddlers we got the Kinte  going 2 work from nine 2 five they will be tobey  return around the way and be kunta we got the elders they drop the jewels tell us not of afrika but when the plantation was more civilized  when cotton had a club where u pass a paper bag test 2 shake your ass as the children sing “y’all had no guns?” no, we had blades and if you acted sassy,  we’d cut your ass “y’all ain’t rob?” no,  we threw a rock,  stole ya clothing off the line  caught a fool and ran a pyramid on him and we moved from the south 2 the north  us bad boys used 2 reside in the village  then we moved 2 harlem now we way up north back then the neighbors would speak  the silent ones you couldn’t trust  now if they speak, they gossiping if they smile you got some funny shit on or cold on your face boy, take some spit and wipe that off here go my brother walking the blvd with his queen as he looked over at us  he said 2 his queen  “look at them” who? “all of them” who? “i just wanna get out of this shit” what? “i wanna be like the sun they can’t touch me you like the moon reflect, see, stars in the sky, so far no man can touch their beauty” i said, “grandpa,  look at rashid following his carrot” grandpa said, “between them 2,  they got all the love in the world  no money but if they’re love was loot,  it could free us all”  and grandpa laughed we laughed we got the good and the ugly but on the news,  the bad gets the starring role  the good be extras ugly directors rich crackers the producers the suns in the middle of the sky little children gathered around their elders like moths 2 light grandpa ask, “what you wanna be, son?” a civilizer like moses 2 the canaanites i wanna walk in the projects,  make blacks act right grandpa laugh, said “that sound nice, now run to the bootleg  and buy me a pint” we don’t laugh at the elders  ‘cause they was once stars  dreams of thrones now these streets they drink and tell us tales  and brighten up our hell as i saw my mama she said, “where rasheed?” over there with his girl friend  looking at his hell he said, “look at them” who? “all of them” who? “i just wanna get away from all this shit” what? “i wanna be like the sun;  they can’t touch me  you the moon, reflect, see,  have stars in the sky so far  that no man can destroy their beauty” i said, “mama, look at rasheed and that girl kissing” mama said, “between them 2,  they got all the love in the world  but no money but if their love was loot,  it would free us all” and mama laughed  we laughed the sun was getting further from the earth  the trees yawned children dropped their tee shirts put sweaters on we ran from parks 2 schools stray dogs had peace 2 walk the streets  without getting rocks tossed running 2 school i stopped 2 say,  “what up” 2 my grandpa  i saw my brother arguing with his queen instead of loving as she walked away and fiddler came 2 mix with the field niggers he had water in his eyes i thought it was from the dust but grandpa knew it was from his heart he said his queen was sick but she ain’t want him 2 go 2 the clinic with her  he got mad talking some shit about she ain’t want him 2 see her crying grandpa told him a story  that his mama told him  that her mama told her sometimes a mother would claim a child before it left the womb  take its soul and hide it in between the stars give the slave master the only thing it could control,  the body rasheed screamed “look at them” who? “all of them” who? “i just wanna be like the sun; they can’t touch me; i wanna be like the sun!” as he ran grandpa sipped his brew and said,