If you see what I see and you hear what I hear then
What you going to do about it
Because what I hear is mama’s crying
Cause there young babies are dying’
Because there young babies grew up too fast
And they didn’t realize that this street life wasn’t going to last
They saw the white man’s American dream and they feened for those things
But they lacked the education needed to properly achieve it
And they fell into the false world of the dollar and believed it
So they let the cries of these mean streets deceive them.
Made them think that hustling was the best route
Cause they wanted Benz’s and Jags and Escalade horns to toot, toot
White powder made green dollars look greener
And it provided cars to ride, stacks of money on the side and the clothes on their backs
But knowledge was what they really needed and knowledge is what they lacked
So if you see what I see then you see
My young brothers with the X’s on their backs
They caught their cases and they did their time
And when they came home they did more time
Because now they’ve entered a new prison, a prison of there minds
And even if they wanted to be free
They just can’t seem to escape the “X” identity.
The identity that follows them when they apply for a job
The identity that makes them feel as if their manhood has been robbed
Because even if they might have earned there GED in prison or learned a trade
That X on there back says to the white man a spade is a spade
It says that they can’t go further with the improvements that they’ve made
And it leads them back to that same corner cause they just trying to get paid
They’ve got mouths to feed and babies clothes they need and all they trying to do is take care of their seed
So if you see what I see and you hear what I hear
Then you hear that young sister crying
Because in a casket is where her man is lying
He was only 21 and he died much, much too young
And now she has to figure out how to be mama and daddy to their son
See for his death they’d never planned
She’d dropped out of high school and just depended on her man
He always told her “I got you Boo and you know I’m gonna take care of my little man too”
So this ghetto fabulous life she lived and enjoyed it
And never thought her man’s life would be the price they would pay for it
She stayed laced with the Prada, the Fendi, and the Gucci
And helped her man cut up cakes and stack up the Lucci
Then came that day that change all of that she could feel it in her heart when she heard that Ratta tat tat
That knock on the door which behind it stood the police
Telling her that her man had just been shot down in the street
So if you see what I see then you see
My young sister struggling because
McDonalds and Burger King are the two jobs that she’s juggling’
She doesn’t have any real skills and can’t get a good job
So now she’s on the corner flipping tricks and serving Johns
Stripping in clubs just trying to keep her bills paid
And at night she stares at the empty side of her bed where her man used to lay
See she never thought that her life would turn out this way
And every night she just cries herself to sleep
Because this is not how she wanted her life to be
So if you hear what I hear
Then you hear the cries of our youth
And if you see what I see
Then you see that we need to teach them the truth
Teach them that there is more to life than material things
And that the only way to get out of the hood is not poisoning our people with illegal substances or hoop dreams
Teach them that they are the descendants of Kings and Queens
And show them that the ends don’t always justify the means
Copyright Ó 2003 Gia K. Andrews All rights reserved.
As one fit for the joist, one will be subject to give up the ghost
As one finely tuned for the gladiatorâ?™s ring, one will not see the light of day
As one who has lived this life of many winter, fall ,summer and springs unknowing what this life would bring
I salute you
I salute your challenging air
your opportunities to fly as a featherless
bird, I salute you
I salute your years of color acceptance, and folly of equality, Yes I salute you
I salute the legal manipulation of your systems, while my father cried in confused ignorance, I salute you
I salute your subtle punishment, behind closed doors of my weakened credibility, Yes I salute that too!
I salute your illusion of repentance, and your blatant arrogance on my powerlessness
I salute your ability to sale the dream to the few palatable,
pushers of your insincere welcome...
Those of us fit to fight SALUTE YOU, ON GUARD!
Maurice Copeland
A child awakens at midnight
to noises that exceed his control
his mother bleeds from her nose
as his father leaves from the fold
every season is cold, deceiving souls,
and seeds from semen are sowed
without a male mentor remaining to see
that the young seed grows.
they boy's grieving is closed
with his father's sin feeding his soul
his mom's body is leaving her clothes
every time she's receiving a rose
while her son terrorizes a ghetto
as just another heathen exposed
robbing residents as they sit
police finds the evidence in his mitts
his pathetic parents
precede the pain that's prevalent in the pits
this child is in need of hug
but is wild with illegal drugs
until one day he can only dream of
how sweet that his freedom was
so he slows the pain
from the doses of Cocaine
that leaves him with no brain
and now he's a no name
and those that deserve it, takes no blame
once he's release
he's left lying in grabage dying to eat
Please people lets stop our kids
from dying in the streets....
GOLDEN SMOG