So they say I am a man today,
Way past twenty-one.
I've seen my days of anguish,
Had my share of fun.

I've been a doggy on a ladder.
I've been a monkey on a string.
Seen big business go down,
Seen how a prince becomes king.

Now I know its a cliche',
But I don't know who I am.
It doesn't really matter none,
Any day I'll make my stand.

     I look you straight in the eye,
     Let you know I'm still alive.
     Pull back your chair girl
     And walk this way.
     I'm a man today hey hey.

They built Fort Green in Brooklyn
On a pile of prisoner's bones.
Stand still, listen closely, you can
Still hear those old bones moan.

I'm a man that likes these old stories
Likes to sing them from a stage.
On the side I do some honest work
For little to no wage.

I've been lonely on the train tracks,
And I've made a little love
And there even was a time
When I spoke to God above.

     I look you straight in the eye,
     Let you know I'm still alive.
     Pull back your chair girl
     And walk this way.
     I'm a man today hey hey.

I wish I was a headlight,
On a Northbound train.
I wish there were a warrior's blood
Running through my veins.

But Shame sits on my shoulder
And He whispers in my ear.
He says you never really knew her
She isn't worth your tears.

I wish there was a woman
Who only knew my name,
A child to tend the fire and burn
The whole world in one flame.

You left me alone with my thoughts again.

You left me alone to the hopelessness, the pain.

You left me alone with my thoughts & they're killing me.

I dreamt of you.
I'm infected by you.

You tell us to
Spread
The
Word
To
End
The
Word

But you mean the word
"*******"

And you think it's mean
Because of
Mental retardation
And how it hurts
Their feelings.


Stop that word.
I won't mind.

Just don't turn around
And call
Him
A
******

I want to be held
The way a dying hand
Holds a crucifix

I want someone to look into my eyes
The way a captain
Looks at a compass

O, to live in the absence of time
when days are not days, but moments
always begun, never at end
unplanned, uncharted
and remembered

honestly,  i don’t see myself as
a poet -
i am a historian who
writes
in poetic form

as are you
readers
and writers

our eyes
record
history as
it happens

storing it
in our hearts;
ushering it safely
on passage through
time

trading it with blank paper
in hopes of not
repeating the bad;
and reliving the good

i hate the word poet,
i am a historian
and so are you