w
a  l  k  I  n  g  with a li mp
an inch          from          a pimp
hair WiLd and unkempt
EGO as big as the blimp
in an attempt to look hard
having no regards playing the part
of the rappers he sees in the videos
draped in gold spitting lyrics
with metaphors about
hoes and fat BANK ROLLS
opposed to five-o’s, street patrols
in blue and white looking for
3 s-t-r-i-k-e-s
as tight skirts and jeans
now FILL the SCREEN
and now the mind that’s 16
plays the scenes again and again….
now his friends begin to change
new names, new games
no conscious, no shame
now          blame          takes
center stage
as his new character
quickly comes of age
now discovering rage
making it harder to be saved
because now his head is being lead
by what his mind is being fed
so now your classroom prankster
is now the new school gangster
no more langston hughes
just the evening news
showing a confused child
bile duct locked

h
e
a
d ropped

leaving the court
with an unwanted escort
charged, now behind bars
with ghetto stars
ballers with no dollars
now HOLLERING for momma’
in a 4×4 with no hoes
locked doors, no more hydro
just more dark shadows
splattered fecal matter
on s c a t t e r e d possibilities
now locked in a facility
the epitome of a symphony
reluctantly playing a eulogy
while praying for an epiphany
see you lost

the grip, too confident

forgotten allegiance to a belligerent child
who followed the crowd
allowed to prowl without a leash
inviting the police to feast and devour
destroying his tomorrow
so sorry for him you didn’t condemn
the things he watched, locked
between the crosshairs of
self-destruction / irresponsible
no monitoring only made him
more vulnerable
to an expedited demise
not seen through the eyes of
the watchers