Road to Liberation

We seek it daily while reaching and teaching the younger
that when it rains it pours, but you can’t let it take you under
No longer stuck in a trap
looking back at the world with open eyes that were once blind, in fact
we lost years for that
We’ve packed prisons for that
We’ve lost children or we raised them just the same
That is nothing nice or sane
through these nights of pain
we pray that the morning ends the mourning
but it's feeling the same
How can we change?
Make it for better instead of the worse this time and rise up out of the hurt?
Can we get it straight and break every constraint on our brains
we're in modern day chains
It becomes simple and plain when we're tempted to blame
another race for the things we've got to change
inside of our own minds
acknowledge our own times
and promise we die in vain
Time gets harder and shorter the longer you live, that's how it is
we've got to survive for all the kids
Infact, parents outliving their children is really ill and it's really for real in my city
we stand still and watch with pity
still too busy to feel that we've all got a problem, "they shot him and he's probably killed". We see the news and read the papers about all the hatred
we're living the blues like Billie Holiday sang it
And she sang them too well
so if we're singing them similar
we are not living well.

The Gift of Being a Father

Wrapped in brown skin floats my true gift
the one I would ask for if only I had one wish
Will he have my eyes, my ears, my head, or my nose?
Are the questions I’m guessing the answers to as he grows.

He broke water rushing me out of work to catch him
to ensure the first hands he lands in carries a love filled blanket
Shivering and shaking, he’s history in the making
a testament to God’s presence and the impact He’s making.

Resting on my chest our hearts beat as one
it’s euphoria, this must be where dreams come from
Santa can never provide this type of treasure
and I have never seen a stork who swoops down in the ghetto.

I’ve been blessed with a responsibility, I deserve it and I cherish it
no one can separate what is created through merit
We mold his mind, combined with his mother’s and mine
a prophecy filled, my miniature sign of the times.

It's On Me

Struggling while reaping no progress
is stagnation at its best
A fighter’s reward is not found in victory
When winning is not an end result
The victory comes within the fight
As character is strengthened and dedication is unwavered
Life
Constantly searching for the unseen
With the belief one day something will be revealed
The truth is hiding behind Plymouth rocks
That symbolically block mentalities from seeing the light
Constantly giving your all when all you seek is a shot
To change the past
By pressing forward through daily battles that have blazed paths
And laid foundations undeniable and unshaken
Dying to live a life of simplicity and certainty
While living imperfectly in an imperfect world
Where society lies through history
Making untrained eyes blurred

Insomnia’s Influence .10

It’s just enough to keep me up
Fighting sleep
Heavy eyes wide shut
Thoughts roaming
I live in a dead zone
Forcing my pencil to paper
The lead finds home
Creating poems of the present
Reflecting on past lessons
in sporadic form

40 Years in the Making

So u think I’m quiet?
But this riot inside made a writer out of me.
I learned how to think ahead
while always acknowledging what’s behind me
So while you flow fast into the future
unattached to the past
I’ll be present
with the most powerful weapon made to last
See, they cant erase this
They cant “destroy the tape” this
So what they resort to is to alienate this
They want to disconnect struggle from our minds
Feed us democracy lies
America the beautiful?
Do u think I’m quiet?
This riot inside made a writer out of me.
Remember Watts when the lights went off
and when the lights went off over in Newark
when the city was hard and filled with the National Guard
Me, I wasn’t even thought of
but somehow I came off a branch of that bark
Deep rooted
Using the art to spark the way
to changed minds in changed times
What they give you is a chained mind
if you don’t seek for yourself
So u think I’m quiet?
But this riot inside made a writer out of me.

Generation: Movement

Change has truly come
The people have decided
To choose a leader

One who has led us
To look within ourselves first
To seek a purpose

We have grown through this
Momentous history ride
And waged a landslide

Involved we’ve become
In a process we once shunned
The voices have won

We’ve defeated odds
Indeed we’ve shattered the glass
And broke barriers

But now is the time
For persistence to be bred
Once all the tears shed

Continue to tread
Through troubled waters ahead
We have just begun

For the change we seek
isn't merely victory
Now begins movement

Formative Years

The youth are doubted
Old ideas need to be re-routed
Onto a path
Where the generation’s gap
Becomes crowded

The youth are eager
To be treated as equal
Until difference is found
While through common understanding
We all come around

The youth are bitter
From being shown less
Than the casual respect
While struggling to progress
Amid and environment of stress

The youth are present
Etching stones
Pressing on
Carving grooves on pages
Rattling the pavement
Letting it be known

Many Moons (simplified)

On my journey to the liberation of my mind
I find that so many with their eyes open are really blind
but see, I decline to pass judgment, all I can do is wonder
what’s the best approach I can take to put them under
my spell of dispelling stereotypes and fighting against odds
in an environment where simply living is a job
A 24/7 gig where the only benefits you get are innate
anything greater, the freedom in your mind has to take
never for granted, seeds of intelligence need to be planted
to fertilize the minds of the youth with truth and understanding
with the time I use I simply intend to infuse
my interpretation of our situation into my children’s world view
So as the blind leads the blind through these troubling times I refuse to have my freedom in a bind.

We Know What You Did…….last election

The turning of the tide
Guess the people’s vote was unwise
A recount mounted by a head count of thieves
Stealing and dealing, the forces fueling their greed
A turn of events that turned the nation upside down
Warmongers have pondered and executed a low down
assassination of democracy
operated sloppily
a pagan prophesy
pulled off right in front of me

Untimely Glory

It occurred too soon for his mind to adapt
overcome with false strength destined to hold him back
If he only took the time to understand
that glory comes, but untimely glory corrupts the man
So zealous he was on his path to self-destruction
that impatience stalled his function
Patience would have given him the world
nevertheless, he rushed, determined into the world
Unfocused, but full of hope
but for the glory, focus was his only hope.


Dedicated to those in a rush to grow!

2 Armed Brothers.

BROOKLYN (CBS/AP) Two brothers who police say fired into a crowd on a Brooklyn street died in a hail of 18 NYPD bullets. Twenty-two-year-old Dwayne David and twenty-one-year-old Kayshawn Forde were shot Sunday by an officer and a lieutenant who say the pair charged them with guns raised. The brothers reportedly were coming to the aid of a friend being attacked outside RJ's Place in the Brownsville neighborhood, police told the Daily News. "When I ran out, I saw two bodies on the ground," Mohamed Ahmed, a deli owner, told the News. "One of them was opening their mouth, trying to stay alive." The plainclothes officers say they first saw the brothers get out of a car and fire into the feuding crowd. The brothers fled toward one officer, and police say they were ordered to stop but didn't. The two officers started shooting, one firing 16 rounds, the other two. "Dwayne was by the car gasping for breath," said his cousin, Roxanne Rawlins. "I was holding Kayshawn's hand because he was in and out (of consciousness)." Police said their action appears justified under department guidelines.

Patriots continue to balance the game in their favor. 5-2

Faulk's late TD gets Pats by Rams 23-16

What's going on?

Mass. boy, 8, dies after accidentally shooting himself with Uzi

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama 4 President

Today our former (R) Secretary of State endorsed Barack Obama for President. He cited Obama's steadiness during this campaign while pointing out the harsh tone of the McCain campaign. Now, to some people, this is not a significant endorsement. Some are under the thought that due to the fact that Powell is African-American that it is only natural that he would support Obama. Despite the fact that Powell served under both Presidents named Bush, there is doubt about his reasons. Not only were his reasons echoed by many other Republicans even before he spoke them, but his detailed explanation should open the eyes of those of you who are still undecided. To me, this is really a significant point in the winding weeks of this race. I suggest that people listen to Powell's endorsement before they make any ill advised negative statemnet regarding this endorsement... I shall return.

McCain and Letterman

The McCain campaign is continuing to press the issue of a relationship between William Ayers and Barack Obama. The thing that puzzles me about these attacks is that when the details of the relationship begin to be explained, he changes the subject. He did last night on David Letterman's show. McCain had the perfect opportunity to expand on what he felt was so troubling about this relationship. Once Letterman began to get into the subject, McCain switched to ACORN. Now there is no doubt in my mind that these allegations are being raised simply to take the voter's attention away from McCain's lack of presidential charachter. It is not working. Infact, it is really working against him in a huge way. I will hold my election prediction until Nov. 1st, but I have a good feeling. Signing Off! AP.

The Debate Pt.3

The presidential debate on Wed. Oct. 15 was interesting to say the least. Barack Obama remained cool and calm as he has been during this entire campaign. John McCain had some good moments of his own, but over all, he seemed to be bothered by the fact that Barack had a counter for every "fact" he tried to state. A strange moment for me was when McCain would praise Barack for his eloquence while in the same breath uneloquently attacking his words. His attacks did not stick and as much as he tried to reiterate them, they fell on deaf independant voters' ears. The McCain campaign should really focus on not letting the election get away from them because this is shaping up to be another historical moment during this election season.

There's Only 1

He’s on time at a divine pace
to place timing in the order only He can create.
Through karma He honors the good
through Him the righteous are understood.

Dear Mr. President

Don’t think it’s because you’re Black that I support you
Even though that fact is a factor, I have to warn you
After this election, accountable you become
to not only US, but to this whole nation you run
Remember Watergate? The history of those tapes?
Make no mistake, they don’t want you to be great, so they might make
Rogue moves, you’re in a chess game with fools
you be the king, matter of fact, just be you
Picture Bobby and Malcolm, John and Martin
paving your path to surpassing odds and margins
Really, do people really know that content of character
plays the greatest deciding factor when people back ya
Even though you had a fiery pastor
composure you held, certainly you quelled the madness
Speaking on Race in in America in front of America
the one act nobody attempted since Martin was telling us
In dreams reality breathes a cool breeze
under fire you were never ignited, forcing your critics to breathe
Deeply, in anticipation of defeat, in my mind I see the ironing of white sheets
Even with the progress we’ve made, you’re still a shade too dark
but look who the jokes on, the Thomas Jefferson’s at heart
Now the crossroad is here, the choice is clear
we haven’t had a President in 8 years
The only thing we had was warfare, failing schools, and a frail economy, among others, just follow through on your policies brother.

Written Against Cultural Stagnation

My work is a written orientation with few feelings evaded
for the sake of my sanity some feelings are not debated
They say “how can you have so much love, you don’t seem elated”
as if they know me inside and somehow they’re related
It’s safe to say when I found love I upgraded
that the ego in my heart got inflated
no bones in my closet will be excavated
at the end of the day I hope people were persuaded
to focus on the problem of why we are so degraded
when depicted, becoming the victim who willingly participated
the demeaning of our culture is being celebrated
the nation’s ignorance is being congratulated
That may be why my soft side is gated
all along they told me my thoughts were outdated
they say it’s no more power in the people, my words are wasted
in a generation where ignorance is not only bliss, but emulated.