what we gotta do to make it out?
a four year college filling loan papers out a mean crossover or the wide receiver route keep fiends outta rehab, stay supplied in the drought choices are few, youth mentality is swayed so easy to fall victim to a system tailored made amerikkkan dream is airbrushed, pitching perfect portrays got us all in a race, we chasing better days but we’re stuck in a maze, guinea pigs on a wheel running in circles, getting served a raw deal no appeal, government ain’t concerned how we feel social injustices are run of the mill still we got to get through and make moves leaving nothing to chance show and prove how we do, you know we gotta advance to each his due season, unwavering faith has no doubt but all this waiting has me wondering... what we gotta do to make it out? my impatience for patience made me persistent prisoner locked in solitude, me, i get no frequent visitors had to break free like convicts turned ministers if past predicts future, forever labeled sinister hard lessons of life get you off the right track and you gotta double up to get what you had back my shit is intact, this all fact, this ain’t an act it’s how i react to all the chat, damn, why the attacks? it’s hard enough trying to make it through the day hypocritical judges talking all that naysay half a penny for your thoughts, be the fuck up on your way still my virtue shines through “and have a nice day…” and everyday i’m fighting life’s championship bout it’s a battle to the finish, end it with a knockout plant seeds, in due time your harvest will sprout my dreams stout, i got clout, tell me... what we gotta do to make it out? which would you prefer, sir, the pretty lie or ugly truth? is it hard to face the facts when you’re staring at the proof? picture me position you in a place with no power held captive, bought and sold, the property of a coward hard living, hard labor from easy catch, easy prey we regress to progress, got to find another way ahead we got to stay, priority obligation it’s the only way to achieve the dreams of a nation can amerikkka be a country fully united? history, you can’t rewrite it, omit it, or try to hide it stakes high in the states, racial tension keeps us divided young, black, gifted and woman, the basis of what my plight is and you ask what my height is? i’m high… sky is the limit, but you try to prevent it got the food chain bent with it, now i’m swimming with the trout the world’s ills make me wanna scream and shout, damn what we gotta do to make it out?
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Yes, My Retarded Ass Signed Up
An ass backwards acronym Serve my country? So tell me what happened then Back when I was fieldhand Slaving in the hot sun From dusk 'til dawn Until I got the job done Stole my family and shipped me off to foreign lands Unknowing of when I would see Motherland again Then Abe declared the E.P. So tell me Have I really been free since 1863? Supposedly And I still ain't seen 40 acres And a mule or no reparations I get segregation, degradation And white's against integration Discrimination ain't new to me I appreciate Mrs. Parks That's why I sit in the front bus seats Jim Crow tried to hold me down Black activists of the 60's Helped to make my silence turn sound I'm spellbound Sold my soul to the government I got the M.G.I. bill Not here for the honor of it Patriotism went out the door If that's the case soldier Then what the hell are you here for? I wrote this while I was in a training class at Basic Training in Fort Jackson, SC. One of my drill sergeants was reading over my shoulder as I was brainstorming about what could come after the line, "Patriotism went out the door." The drill sergeant laughed at me then said, "If that's the case soldier then what the hell are you here for?" What he said made sense and it rhymed, so I decided to keep it. A poem from "Just My Thoughts: Mind, Body & Soul" by J.D. Laws, July 2006. we can't wait for them
we must depend on us it's a nightmare, a nightmare, nightmare, and it’s following me it's following, following me it's following me it's a nightmare, nightmare, a nightmare and it's following me it's following, following me and i just wanna be free it's a nightmare, a nightmare, a nightmare and it's following me it's following, following me it's following me it's a nightmare, a nightmare, a nightmare and i just wanna be free it's following, following me it's following me as i look upon the reality of our ancestors dream the freedom we have on the beaten backs of our ancestor’s suffering the product of their forced labor i sit back and wonder are we progressing towards the pinnacle of fulfilled ambitions it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could go to school and learn a variety of subjects yet people of color drop out of high school at alarming rates and when we do graduate and get a high school diploma or degree there is very little opportunity for me student loan debt, unemployed, underemployed and unequal pay this unjust system was set up that way it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if there were bookstores and libraries in every neighborhood that you could go to without restriction yet we choose to ignore these buildings of public information, negating resources they said if you want to hide something from blacks put it in a book the forces that be didn't want me to write or read it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could get tested for free for different viruses and diseases yet we choose to not know our own status and unknowingly infect others these laboratories they oversee never saw fit for me to be treated remember tuskegee? 40 damn years! bad blood my ass it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could watch tv and learn the history of different places and cultures yet we choose to be brainwashed supporting media that degrades us blatantly the sheeple, stay woke people it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if they told you your outer beauty resonates from your inner beauty and strength by simply being yourself there is no need to add to what God created you to be yet we decree that fake is the new real botox injections, breasts and butt implants acrylic nails and weave take that oppression off your head inside you're already dead it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could work together for a common cause greater than yourselves they yell underground railroad yet black on black crime is prevalent in our communities and some skin folk ain't kinfolk there are already too many outside forces plotting our genocide where is your pride? we have to stop being our own threat my people, why haven't we unified yet? it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you were given uplifting opportunities to advance yourself and your community yet we choose to blame the man and the system for our problems yes, white supremacy privilege robs them it's the soup du jour everyday is systemic discrimination here to stay? likely if America doesn't change its ways it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could work a regular 9 to 5 to take care of your family and build wealth to pass on to future generations yet we choose stagnation we buy expensive clothes, cars and jewelry never investing in items that appreciate in value my spirit grieves i guess your commercialism materialism is the flashy mule I never received where is my damn 40 acres? it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you were given the right to vote and influence government policy yet we choose to bypass voter registration drives and complain about the ineffectiveness of the republic the presidential pick was already in political posturing and puppeteering gets them in it's the corporation's multi-million dollar contribution manifested we really don't have a say Father, let us pray it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if you could attend church without fear of persecution yet our places of worship are bombed and burned down to the ground and we get shot and killed anyway by terrorists the media labels as a troubled individual we're losing and rebuilding and losing and rebuilding the spiritual, help us God it's a nightmare what would our ancestors say if the sky is the limit and you really could be anything you wanted to be yet we choose to be unsupportive crabs in a barrel and bring down each other we can all rise to the top if we work together there is no i in team you are royalty king and queen, dream brothers and sisters, dream it's a nightmare our ancestors would say wake up, wake the hell up! what is this? explain to me right now just what the hell is this? what's going on? i would live my hard life over again and die a thousand slave deaths to get half of the opportunities you are afforded today please don't let the past 400 years of struggle be in vain we sacrificed so that you could gain continue to fight the plight of our people fight with all your might the next generation needs you it's a nightmare, a nightmare, a nightmare and it’s following me it's following, following me it's following me it's a nightmare, a nightmare, a nightmare and it's following me it's following, following me and i just wanna be free free, free, free, let freedom ring, freedom ring free, free, free liberty that's all i need, that's all i need free, free, free let freedom ring oh yes, Father help me somebody free, free, free liberty it's all i need, it’s all i… (gun fire erupts) she is the sun rays
melanin magic, golden bringing warmth to earth |
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Handwritten short review by legendary poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni for "Just My Thoughts: Mind, Body & Soul"
"It's not a #1 record but Just My Thoughts: Mind, Body & Soul catches the times of the heart and minds. Thank you so very much for sharing with me."
Poetically, Nikki Giovanni (excerpt) (side note: It's dated one day after my 22nd birthday! I cried and died when I saw that part!!) #Won'tHeDoIt! Yasss!!! Dear J.D. -
I'm delighted to grant permission. Good luck! Keep on keeping on. Poetically, Nikki Giovanni (her response to allow me to use her review for promotion) (side note: This is dated two days after her 67th birthday!) This is Nikki Giovanni's review for my still unreleased book of poetry, "R.I.S.E."
THIS is why I'm NOT stopping! Celebrated ICON, poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou acknowledged receiving my book with this kind card!
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