Lately I'm startin' to feel ghetto
Now that I moved out the hood
I find I walk with a swagga like, yo
nigga I wish you would
And it could just be a latent
excitement in me
You know you can't be proud of now
if you are no longer who you used to be
you can't appreciate blindness
until you can no longer see
you can't buck the jail
until your black ass is free
So I moved from the place I had grown to hate
now I feel I am better so I can love my race
though I hate the space, in the universe we occupy
hate what I've seen it do and the tears I've cried
but I love the swag in my walk and the gangsta in my step
even though I bleed for no gang and need no rep
I am here... I am here
through ketchup sandwiches, eviction notices, and a fondness
for fried chicken and beer
My momma sacrificed and my daddy gave in
she fought to save us and raise us
he let the devil win
they say the disease is addiction and most don't win
I say addiction takes conviction because they go back
again and again
They say forgiveness brings peace
I say acceptance brings love
I don't forgive a shred of the pain
but I have come to accept who he was
a product of this ghetto
the place I learned to hate
the part of Heaven I figure
God has decided not to regulate
She prayed for miracles and saving
He would always work it out
her faith an addiction of conviction
of which there would never be doubt
a product of this ghetto
the place I learned to hate
the part of Heaven I figure
God has decided not to regulate
And I stand their legacy
poised to articulate
but my words become messy
and I start to renumerate
My swag comes from them
from a pride in who I am
born free from who they used to be
They were blind so I could see
Land bound so I could fly
released from my jail, free in the sky
So I'm here... I'm here
Diligent at school, at work at play with minimal tears
reminicing on ketchup sandwiches, eviction notices
and craving some fried chicken and beer
I'm here...
In-Fin-Ite
Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved
Author notes
You can't get where you're going if you forget where you came from, and sometimes even though you did everything possible to be anywhere other than where you were you can't help but miss the place where you used to be...
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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powerful, profound..and as complex ones path can be at times, you're right we can miss the familiar. You did an excellent job on this, truly I love it and can see that you continue on your path of growth.
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I'm here.... to tell you that you penned a great piece here. I love the flow and your gritty realness in this. Keep on writing.
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I See...
Dez sent me over hear (but not "for fried chicken and beer"... (smiling) and I'm glad he did. Your style is smooth and fresh and this piece is deeply reflective. The rhyming is good and the meanings you packed in here were powerful. A great, insightful piece about how one (maybe) finds some peace. So nicely put together and very easy to understand and relate to. Thanks for posting this one.
AsIThink...
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Excellently done, sis. Miss your voice. Kechup sammishes? I know folks who had mayonaisse sammishes. Ketchup? I gotta try that. LOL
Write on.
Dez
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hahaha... yeah, Ketchup "sammishes"...lol. They don't taste too good but they work to beat the 'growl' back (Mustard "sammishes" are better though...lol).
AsIThink...
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