Thursday, February 23, 2012

Matter of Fact

You read it here 1st!  I've yet to post this on Writers Cafe or the Almost Dead Poets Society on FB.  I performed it only twice--once at Red Lotus Gallery in Muskegon for Open Mic--and most people in the place were stoned outta their minds & suffering from short term memory loss, so I seriously doubt anyone grasped it.  The next time was for an audience of 2 at the Avant Garde 2434.  It's lengthy--7 1/2 minutes for me to recite.  But still...it's full of some current events that trouble me, compacted in what I call nutshell version.  So, even though it's lengthy, much more could be said on the topics.  Lemme know what you think, cuz I'm contemplating making a video of this spoken word piece.

Here it here it go:



Matter of Fact


My heart skips beats / pounds

The apex of my heart feels pain / physically / metaphorically
It needs some things to change
It might cease to beat / before things do

Haters won’t help
But will you?


I'm burning from the inside out
Frankenstein resurrected me / abandoned me 
But I'm still here walkin this earth 
Where else I'm supposed to be?

As smart as I am / I ain't got the answers
I'm just askin the questions / gonna have u askin too
Til enough people do... the white upper class is gonna rule 

We gotta ask / we gotta do / we the meek 
We wanna inherit the earth- don’t we ya'all? 
Cuz we sho ain't gonna inherit our share 
That's my brother's role / my brother / the family thief
My brother who don’t care 
Emptied daddy’s bank  / stepped over Uncle’s rank
Changed will / collectin signatures from an elderly man under hospital sheets
Nursing home unaware of his deceit
Collectin pension checks he ain’t earned / money on a house that ain’t his
Took daddy’s Cadillac too
But hey...I got one too! / Paid cash for mines
because I work! / with an ailing body / a determined mind

It's the greedy / the 1% / the white bureaucracy
Tryin to play the rest of us like puppets 
But I was born from the same daddy prick
And I got karma on my side / and my people / we 
The generational divide / the rainbow coalition 
The yellow / brown / black & tan
Furry and feathered too
We gonna take care of Mother Nature 
Gonna come after you like tsunami / Global 
Warming you 


The apex of my heart feels pain / physically / metaphorically 
It needs some things to change
It might cease to beat / before things do

My brother won't help 
But will you? 


Wish I could get past all these should be adults
Quick sand / suckin down / drinkin much
supportin little / not even theyselves 
In a woulda been man / instead of a clone, canned / sittin
Just sittin / like a teenager / in a wasted land
Barkin angry tones / directed at angels / angels just restin
When u shoulda been payin more attention to ur demons / bitin
Bitin at ur feet / cripplin ur capacity to walk / upright
Like a homo sapiens / homo erectus 

Hell...nothin stands erect
Nothin functions normally
In dat up/down, in/out, high/low 
Serotonin droppin / dopamine excitin...but fewer poppin
No receptors to grab a hold of either / neither
Sho can’t grab a hold of me
Move me past them universe / shift 
If I can't save them, let me drift
Cuz they are stuck in strife 
And me / I / I’m tryin to keep movin thru this life 

They ain’t got a penny / ain’t payin they child support 
Don't wanna work / refuse to be re•spon•si•ble
Collectin from our f'd up gov / swallowin all my syll•a•bles

Our gov / where the rich get richer / the poor can’t find they way
The workin class / head spinnin / from all they seen 
Can't afford to eat / pockets are too lean
The drinkin / druggin / non-productive / fools
Tradin they EBT for what they owe on the street 
They ain’t got a penny / but they wanna eat
They wanna see / what I can do with my million dollar hands 
Top or bottom they wanna receive 
Top or bottom they don't give 
Step off my platform you lost boys
I’m tryin to live!


The apex of my heart feels pain / physically / metaphorically 
It needs some things to change
It might cease to beat / before things do

These lost boys won't help
But will u? 


Goin to church / but where's the morals?
Thieves / killers / robbin people of they dollahs
Snatchin the life of they loved ones
Mamas with nothin left to do but holla

I wanna breed compassion 
But where do I start? 
To insight this change / to rearrange 
The lost souls / they know not what they do???
Know not what to do / with they disadvantaged / or
Too privileged life

But they go to church
They preach God  & Bible / but they never read a book
Matter of fact 
Some of their mission is of misogyny
Matter of fact
they use their religion to promote their patriarchy / to abuse
To be homophobic / to hate
To start wars / to make excuses
For what they do and do not do
God...is their scapegoat / when they fight or steal / to get a new logo’d coat or kicks
whatever the media says is the top picks
It's all about things / guns / thugs / white collar mug
Red / Blue
Republican / Democrat / or
Bloods / Crips
all of ‘em on some Jesus trip, but they still takin sides / loyal to clicks

But where is their compassion? 


The apex of my heart feels pain / physically / metaphorically 
It needs some things to change
It might cease to beat / before things do

God’s children won’t help
But will you?


I'm different / but u & me...we r the same 
And I need a crusader
Unity in diversity / I'm delivering it / to u 
Eat it / taste it / spit it / repeat it 
Save our earth / save our animals / save our people 
Tell those 1% to vacate they high throne 
Cuz those mortgage lenders took ½ a trillion in 0% loans / from our 
Federal Reserve 
But won’t reduce the interest rate for those working / and leave them / Foreclosed

Black men / you are not as one dimensional as the media / including BET /
have made you out to be 
You got to turn the tide / you got to deliver some powerful messages
Don't let the white man buy ur soul 
Use ur time on the mic wisely / don’t reduce yourself
to an illusion of control


Re-write our history
Will you?

Cuz I got a pain in the apex of my heart




I'm The ArtistCG 
And this Is my poetry
Evolution / in progress 

1 comment:

  1. It is long, and I remember you reading it. I think if when you begin to read, you let everyone know it is about (several) different topics in our society- others will try to pay attention to 'catch' each one. Otherwise I think- listeners may not be able to keep up? Each stanza is relevent to each otherthe whole of the poem is entirely connected (am I making sense? Lol)

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