I was raised to be a man
I was raised to be strong
I was raised to know how to admit when I'm wrong

I was raised to be a man by a mother of six
She worked four jobs
Never saw her sleep
Smoked cigarettes
I was under the impression,
She never got sick.

I was raised to be strong
But never knew what that was.
I've beat bigger, stronger and faster people
Just because.
Tolerated all kinds of pains,
Been locked up more times than I can count.
Made a beautiful little girl
And that's the only thing,
That made me as strong as I am now.

I was raised to know how to admit when I'm wrong
Anything I've ever done I never regret,
Change tunes or sing a different song.

I'm proud of who my mother raised,
And my daughter perfected.
So I write these poems to show the world where I'm headed.