By: Cedric McClester

Like leopards can’t change their skin
The enemies within
Won’t twist won’t turn or bend
Like foes or erstwhile friends
And no matter what’s at stake
They won’t relent for heaven’s sake
Their behavior is very strange
Because rules are often changed

Like elephants never forget
It might be to their regret
That they’re making everyone upset
By holding on to their threat
Is it worth the sacrifice
For them to continue to roll the dice
And not take a fool’s advice?
At least give us half a slice

Like the fox is supposed to be sly
That can’t always get them by
When the stakes are extra high
Some foxes learn to comply
Others continue to defy
At the risk that they might die
And we have to question why
They continue to play the bad guy?

Like Cheshire cats smile a lot
When placed on the spot
Some get ******* in a knot
And others become overwrought
Like birds of feather stick together
No matter what the weather
I wonder if they’ll change course ever?
Or is it that they’re not that clever


Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

They reported
On the brother
Said he’s broke
Ain’t that a mother
Guess someone had to
Pull his cover
Cuz broke is one thing
Ugly is another

It’s hard to feel sorry
For the brother’
Cuz broke is one thing
Ugly is another

They say he lived
A lavish lifestyle
Made it rain in clubs
That’s not the half child
Until his Chapter 11
Got filed
He was runnin’ round
Acting buck wil

It’s hard to feel sorry
For the brother’
Cuz broke is one thing
Ugly is another

It’s hard for me
To even pity him
Cuz chance are
None to slim
That he would ever
Pity me
In those same circumstances
Don’t cha see

Fancy cars
And big *** mansion
On top of that
A guest-house expansion
How ‘bout the jewelery
He would wear
Medallions gold chains watches
He didn’t care

It’s hard to feel sorry
For the brother’
Cuz broke is one thing
Ugly is another

They reported
On the brother
Said he’s broke
Ain’t that a mother
Guess someone had to
Pull his cover
Cuz broke is one thing
Ugly is another









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Call it depression
Or even the blues
But I won’t be fodder
For the morning news
However you view it
I do not choose
To end it all now
In fact I refuse

I often feel like
I wanna check out
But suicide’s something
I rather doubt
It’s only an option
That some people flout
But it’s too complicated
To be about

Call it a rut
Or down in the dumps
I’m in a morass
See I’ve had my lumps
I’ve taken my bruises
Along with the bumps
But my heart will keep beating
For as long as it pumps

So I ‘m resigned to living
Until I draw my last breath
And I will not leave here
Until nothing more’s left
How I’m feeling now
Is no more than a test''
That life is giving me
In case you haven’t guessed





(Cedric cClester, Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

On the anniversary of
The January 6th violence
Only two Republicans
Stood there in silence
It was almost as an act
Of defiance
Those absent revealed
Their servile reliance

On a former president
Who defies science
Which has been demonstrated
By his noncompliance
With even the most basic
Acts of reliance
On his prescriptions
Of pseudoscience

On the anniversary
Of a fateful date
Most Republicans feared
Being crushed by the weight
Of the former president’s
Penchant for hate
And his innate ability
To complicate

Their present and future
Political ambitions
Which has most of them
On various missions
To avoid being made
Acts of attrition
And having to show
Their true contrition







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

He gave it a yo-man’s try
But democracy can’t be allowed to die
Because of that loser’s great big lie
And there’s no need to wonder why
Because the majority of us deserve it
We must do all we can to preserve it
Despite the efforts of those who misserve it
Doing their best to unnerve it

He did everything he could
To steal the election knock on wood
But it didn’t do him any good
Cos he lost anyhow understood?
Now he tells a lie that gets repeated
About why it is that he got defeated
Which is all the more reason that he got heated
And claimed that the other side cheated

Before the race even began
He claimed that the fix was in
Though incumbents usually win
Challengers do now and then
And that was the case in this race
The incumbent was the one who lost face
Going down in utter disgrace
Having soundly been replaced

Those in the know can detect
The former President’s a primary suspect
And he’s a nervous wreck
Which boggles one’s intellect
So much for democracy
When it’s us against the oligarchy
All the rest is pure malarkey
Like the drumming of Richard Starkey










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Don’t make me cuss!
He’s never been like us
He was left a trust
While we inherited dust
How could he understand
The average man?
He has a diabolical plan
And a golden can

Don’t make me curse!
He’s the absolute worse
He’s so self-immersed
He places himself first
See that *******
Is for the super rich
And the rest of us
Can just go dig a ditch

Don’t make me use profanity
To describe his insanity
Born out of vanity
And Sean Hannity
He’ll take the 5th
About January 6th
Or pretend it’s a myth
And a Republican gift

Don’t make me imprecate!
The kind of hate
That’s a counterweight
To this debate
But you always knew
He’s not like me or you
He’s just the glue
His party adheres to

Cedric Mcclester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

The bullets rained down
Then went away
But the memory of Attica
Will always stay
Fesh in my mind
Like it was yesterday
What a terrible price
Some were made to pay

On September 13th
Nineteen seventy- one
Thirty-nine were massacred
Before the state police were done
In an effort to retake Attica prison
Under their gun
They unloaded their weapons
On everyone

Lord have mercy (Lord have mercy)
Is all I can say
I know that human beings shouldn’t
Be treated that way
We may have different colors
But we’re all made of clay
And we’re loved by God the same
Anyway

Most of the prisoners there
Happened to be black
Not to play the race card
It’s a historical fact
So it may well have influenced
How the police chose to attack
While trying their ****** best
To take the prison back

The governor gave his go ahead
So the state police proceeded
With their prescription for success
More than was needed
Those not killed were tortured
As they lie there bleeding
And the police were credited
With their mission succeeding

For many years the facts
Remained hidden
While those responsible
Were doing the governor’s bidding
But what’s done in the dark
Always comes out in the light
Thankfully today the facts
Are in plain sight









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

For 187 minutes of
The Capitol attack
The President of the United States
Simply sat back
And watched the action unfold
Act by act
And this is not hyperbole
It’s a salient fact

For 187 minutes of
The insurrection
The President of the United States
Offered no protection
For those trapped in the Capitol
Which was stormed at his direction
Cos violence is something for which
He’s shown a predilection

For 187 minutes of
A national disgrace
Where wackos and the misguided
Ran all over the place
The President of the United States
Refused to show his face
Although he was implored to
In any case

For 187 minute of
Our nation’s history
A President of the United States’
Inaction was a mystery
As things got outta hand
And frankly more blistery
The question that it posed was
How the hell could this be?











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

America what will it be
The choice is ours
While we’re still free
Democracy or hypocrisy?
We’re at the crossroads
Of our destiny
What the future holds
We’ll just have to see

America what will it be
In God we trust
In this land of the free
Or Fox News broadcasts
And conspiracies?
Not to mention the big lie
Which is heresy
And an anathema to me

America what will it be
Will we conform to
The autocracy
Or resist and hold on
To democracy?
Which isn’t easy
Believe you me
Though vigilance is the key

America what will it be?
We have to decide
It’s an emergency
Let’s stand up to
The insurgency
Before it engulfs
All that we see
And impact our history








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2022.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McCleester

He was the head of state
Who’s against the mandate
But he promotes the shot that he got
And the booster too
Though before now who knew?
He’s totally divorced
From people having to be forced
To save their lives though he survives

Don’t cha think it’s kinda sad
That he bad the Covid bad
And took advantage of what
Medical science had?
Though no one forced him to
Instinctively he knew
By the medical advice
How to save his life

But when it comes to you
He says do what you want to
And should you happen to die
There’s an obvious reason why
Though the President has insisted
You’ve chose to resist it
Cos after all you’re free
To be a statistic see

And no matter what you do
It's about more than just you
Like a bad cold or the flew
You can pass Covid on too
And even if you stay alive
Others may not survive
Simply put it is unfair
If you don’t do your share.

Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

So you don’t wanna
Be mandated?
Would you prefer to
Be cremated
Or buried in the
Traditional way
Six feet underground
Let’s say?

You’re sitting there
Without a clue
But you don’t want ‘em
To Fauci you
That’s too dangerous
In your view
So absolutely nothing
You choose to do

Millions have been
Vaccinated
But you’re among those
Who waited
I just hope that
You’re not il-fated
Because you chose
To debate it

Covid is spreading
Real fast
Better hope that it don’t
Catch your ***
We don’t wanna be
At your funeral mass
Or to speak of you
In the recent past






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved,

By: Cedric McClester

How to get him to yes
Is anyone’s guess
But nevertheless
We’ll do our best
To try to persuade
Him to keep what he made
As his word starts to fade
Though it’s still on parade

How to get him to yes
And have him bless
What’s transgressed into a mess
I must confess
Is becoming a chore
Cos he keeps wanting more
And it’s hard to keep score
As he is to ignore

How to get him to yes
From wanting much less
Than our largesse at its best
Without having to regress
Is a conundrum
An sort of secundum
Where the prospect is glum
That we need to run from

How to get him to yes
Is no contest
Cos he’s just a pest
And I do not jest
Whose sole ambition
Is to change his position
While he has us fishing
He’s on his mission















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Kyle Rittenhouse
Should be quiet as a church mouse
Instead that young louse
Has opened his mouth
He’s all over the TV
Oh dear me
Like the populist celebrity
That he wants to be

Nevermind the two dead
And one wounded
Wouldn’t you think
He’d be obtunded?
But au contraire
Seems he doesn’t care
Or is not aware
Just to be fair

But how does one
Simply dismiss
A tragedy like this?
Guess ignorance
Is truly bliss
And it was self-defense
He no doubt will insist
As the mill takes on more grist

In the sight of
The Far Right
Rittenhouse is a
Pure delight
If you will
A white knight
Representing
The good fight











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

As I breathed
my last breath
And embraced
The thought of death
Envisioning there’s
Nothing left
But those that I’m
Leaving bereft

Another thought
Did occur
Passing strange
As it were
Was my life
Just one big blur?
And how many others
Would concur?

What was I
Leaving behind
To benefit
My fellow kind?
More than once
Crossed my mind
Was it an accident
Or by design?

For now I feared
It was much too late
For anything
But to accept my fate
Having been crushed
Underneath the weight
Then everything
Began to conflate












Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021, All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Once upon a time
The enemy was ISIS
Today it’s the Grand Old Party
And its many vices
Through their conspiracy theories
They try to entice us
Which has our democracy
In a constant state of crisis

Once upon a time
We could respectfully disagree
Without reducing the argument
To demagoguery
Now that’s all but impossible
As  far as I can see
Which has me also wondering
How free really are we?

Once upon a time
We were the envy of every nation
Today we’re left to wonder
What happened to our foundation?
Some are of the opinion
That we should just be patient
Like there’s nothing wrong
With going on with our complacence


Once upon a time
We were encouraged to dream,
Today that doesn’t fit within
Some people’s larger scheme
We are merely pawns
On their chess board it would seem
And as the game advance
They’re picking up more steam






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Mark Meadows do you revel
In the fact
That you served the devil
At the highest level?
Are you now admitting
To committing
Acts of sedition
From that lofty position?

Will Congress be stiffed?
Or is it a myth
That you’ll take the Fifth
Like a treasured gift?
When it’s do or die
Will you simply lie
So as not to comply?
Let me ask you why?

Were you concussed
Or was it power lust
‘Made you betray our trust?
You have a lot of crust
So tell us what’s the deal
Or how you now feel?
Only keep it real
About the Big Steal

Not to be abrupt
I hate to interrupt
Are you just corrupt?
What’s your construct?
How do you justify
They way that you comply
Do you just deny
That Sweet Bye and Bye?











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

They’ve labeled him a demon
Was it in his father’s *****?
Can there be any redeeming
For one who came through steaming
Mowing innocent people down
On a Christmas parade ground?
Over there in Waukesha Wisconsin
Don’t his ramblings sound like nonsense?

What went on in his head?
He left six people lying dead
But no one’s visited him he said
At least that’s what I thought I read
He left countless people wounded
And otherwise obtunded
Is he crazy?
You might have assumed it

Police haven’t discovered his motive
You see his mind is a locomotive
Which I guess could be denotive
Of his not being emotive
And despite his reasoning
What he did is an outright sin
Can the church now say amen?
Come on y’all I know you can

His mother tried hard to explain
From his childhood he’s been insane
Something’s clearly wrong with his brain
Though the fact of the matter will remain
Six people needlessly lost their lives
While their killer still survives
And the psychologists take deeper dives
His case is one for the archives







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved,

By:  Cedric McClester

The precedent’s been made
By Roe v Wade
The question now
Is can it be saved?
Or must women once again
Become enslaved
From the womb to their grave
By laws primarily man made?

Now here’s the latest news
About a woman’s right to choose
Which believe you me
Is about to be abused
By a court of nine
Six of whom will redefine
What should be plain to see
How many weeks constitutes viability?

With abortions all but banned
By the Supreme Court’s heavy hand
The poor will be on their own
Caught up in the Twilight Zone
When it comes to having babies
There’s no if ands buts or maybes
Can’t you hear ‘em pleading
Someone save me?

If Conservatives get their wishes
Roe v Wade rests with the fishes
Never to be heard from again
To the satisfaction of some men
Who have no skin in the game
But want to weigh in just the same
I just hope women remember
In the mid-terms come next November











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Have we lost our minds
Since Columbine?
Gun violence is a cancer
For which there seems be no answer
But political inaction
Has served as an enhancer
To repeated tragedies
That never had  to be!

Children attend school
With the possibility of being shot
When all they should have to worry about
Is whatever grade they got
Gun violence and school shootings
Seem never ending
What kind of message
Are our elected officials sending?

Second Amendment rights
Be ******
Where our priorities get jammed
Some of our rights
Need to be amended
When they’re not used
The way they were intended
Perhaps they simply need to be rescinded

Expressions of condolences
Come too little or too late
When you’ve lost your child
Through a random act of hate
Perpetrators well may be
Labeled as insane
But the National Rifle Association
And gun violence is our bane








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Jesus help me please
I’ve been knocked down to my knees
By a dreaded disease
Help me to recover
Help the doctors to discover
A miracle or cure
Cos I can’t take much more
And I need your help for sure

Jesus help me please
Bring me comfort and some ease
And grant me a reprise
From a mind going insane
And a body racked with pain
Help me to find internal peace
You can tame this savage beast
Raveging the north west south and east

Jesus help me please
It even hurts me when I sneeze
Try to breathe and I just wheeze
I remain your faithful debtor
Praying in time that ’ll get much better
But you’re the one who holds the keys
So  won’t you help me Jesus please
You have the expertise’’

Jesus help me please
I’m not just shooting the breeze
I’m  in way over my skis
And I haven’t any doubt’
Only you can help me out
See despite modern science
On you I place my reliance
And this isn’t in defiance

















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

This is a different era
And a different time
George Floyd and Aumaud Arbery
Are the new paradigm
What happened to both of them
Was clearly a crime
And now their killers
Will have to do the time

This is a different era
And a different time
A mother looked towards heaven
And received a sign
Once in a while
Justice can be blnd
And different races
Of the human kind

This is a different era
And a different time
Despite the opposition’s efforts
To vilify and malign
Aumaud Arbery
The Jurors were disinclined
To measure him
As he was so poorly defined

This is a different era
And a different time
Where occasionally reason
Gives us the rhyme
So that those who are guilty
Of committing a crime
Will not get away
With crossing that line















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

What kind of evil
Lurks within the hearts of men
Who run down innocent people
Now and then?
They do it with abandon
‘Cos they can
And for the sake of political arguments
They can’t win

What kind of courage
Does it take
To gun down an unarmed jogger
For heaven’s sake
During a citizen’s arrest?
Give me a break!
We’re not sleeping anymore
We’re wide awake!

What kind of despot
Gives an order
Because he felt that
He had oughta
That leads a journalist
To his slaughter?
Who thought he was in
A safe quarter

What kind of kid
Looking for fun
Decides to *******
A long gun
Then travels twenty
Miles away
kills two  and wounds one
Like it’s okay?





















Cedrc McClester,,Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

Words by: Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.

There is such a thing
As white privilege
And to the manner born
A seventeen year old white boy
Who killed two men  
Now is a paragon
For all that ails our divided country
And frankly put is wrong

Wingnuts will parade him
As  a profile in courage
Others will lambaste him
With words that disparage
The justice system that let him go
Was simply a miscarrage
Cos he’s presented as a hero instead
Of the murderer of the two men dead

How did he get away with it
Some are bound to ask?
No doubt others will celebrate
By raising their flask
Though it’s a travesty
To say the very least
What he’s become if you ask me
Is a savage beast

What have we become
I’d just like to know?
Cos we will have to reap
The sordid seeds we sow
The American experiment
Has quite a ways to go
I hope that she makes it
Even though I don’t know









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Though hearts are broken
The  jury has spoken
But they had to be joking
Cos now we all are woken
Our justice system is flawed
Though it once was awed
It’s now thought of as fraud
Not worthy of an applaud

So as not to be unkind
I thought justice was blind
But that was only in my mind
Cos it is not as you shall find
And it needs to be stated
It can be complicated
Or perhaps it’s overrated
It’s not always checkmated

Despite instructions sent
It can be skewed or bent
By the human element
Influenced by the eloquent
Closing arguments
Which can shade the intents
Of all kinds of defendants
Who’ve been freed therefore and hence

There’s a big dichotomy
Between how it’s supposed to be
And the things we actually see
In the courtroom which is key
To the thesis herein rendered
About the apprehended
Because of verdicts that engendered
Outcomes that haven’t been splendored

















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted
On all of the charges
While the question of his guilt
Or innocence enlarges
Acquittal shouldn’t be confused
With innocence
Sometimes the guilty are exonerated
At the victim’s expense

Some people are hailing him
As a hero
Others view him as an absolute
Zero
But regardless of which side
You find yourself on
Two human beings are
Dead and gone

There are those who want him to become
A congressional page
Despite all of the blood on his hands and
His tender age
They want to raise him up
As some kind of paragon
While fair minded people
Know that  he’s wrong

Kyle Rittenhouse is a sign of
The times
Where we’ve lost our reasons
As well as our rhymes
Two people are dead that
Didn’t have to be
And he is the perpetrator
Which Is no mystery









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Kyle Rittenhouse would have been dead,
Or so his mother said
If he hadn’t brought his gun full of lead
But shouldn’t he have been in bed
Instead?
In a clear moment of deflection
She said, “ He brung that gun
For his own protection.”

But that seventeen year old boy
Left his home in Illinois
With a lethal toy
For Kenosha to deploy
For his own satisfaction
He wanted in on the action
And didn’t pause for a fraction
Before his deadly reaction

She went on to say, “Kyle did a good job.
When he broke down on the stand today
I broke down too
As only a mother can do
Cause he’s innocent of the charges
When his gun dislodges
It made perfect sense
To say he killed in self-defense

His mother must have been drinking
Cos that’s convoluted thinking
Kyle killed without blinking
So her argument is sinking
Knowing danger was brewing
What the hell was she doing
Idly watching her son pursuing
What could lead to his ruin?










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2921.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

The fact that gerrymandering
Is fear driven
For those in the know
Is a given
But it’s based on the country
In which we’re now living
In time we hope
That some equity is replevin

The loyal opposition
Ain’t so loyal anymore
They’ve sidestepped the Constitution
To which we all swore
That protects our democracy
Which they choose to ignore
For the other options
That they want to explore

***** tricks and politics  
Are synonymous
When it’s not God
In which you trust
Time worn beliefs
Can be turned to dust
And the things that we value
Can suddenly go bust

Today’s elections are
A zero sum game
When most candidates run
For the power and fame
Which has the picture
Totally out of its frame
And we have only ourselves
To blame











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Far be it from me
To be a debater
Or even for that matter
A prognosticator
When it comes to racism
And the melenen-challenged  hater
To their whims and fancies
I refuse to cater

Far be it from me
To sit here in judgement
Or wonder why
They seem so hell bent
On keeping the black man
As well as the brown
With their heads bowed
And necks on the ground

Far be it from me
To try to appraise
Where our country seems headed
Nowadays
If we don’t change
Our wicked ways
When we lose our democracy
Don’t be amazed

Far be it from me
While wondering out loud
Why we as a nation
Are encased in a shroud?
The God that we trust in
Doesn’t have our heads bowed
And we commit sins
That are not allowed



















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

If the truth
Can set you free
Why do you
Deny your history
Whether or not
It’s blistery?
In truth and fact
That’s the mystery

Why is it so
Important to hide
The history that you
Refuse to confide?
As a matter of fact
You’ve outright lied
And sought to have
The truth denied

You can’t change
Your history
But the future can be
What it’s made to be
And what shouldn’t be
That hard to see
Is the irony
In my dichotomy

For the past
You can be forgiven
If you can change
The way that you’re living
Whether or not
You find it misgiven
That’s the direction in which
You should be driven










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Ain’t no need
In wondering anyhow
How things will turn out
In the Arbery trial
Eleven white jurors
And a single black
How does history tell ya
They’re gonna act?

We can pray for justice
As we always do
But the verdict’s gonna be
Where they apply the *****
Don’t expect three white men
To be guilty as charged
When they comprise the jury
By and large

Let’s pray that the family
Can get some peace
Cos that’s what they deserve
In the very least
They’re gonna have to turn
To the DOJ
For the justice they’re seeking
Anyway

Hope springs eternal
And we can always pray
That things turn out different
On the verdict day
But for killing black men
They usually get away
Cos our lives don’t matter
No matter what they say










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2921.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

******* up face
But where was the water?
Kyle Rittenhouse should be convicted
Ya know he oughta
But I doubt he will pay
For the slaughter
That he committed
As jury deliberations grow even shorter

Now that the defence
Has done it’s part
Before the rioting
Can even start
They’ve called in
The National Guard
In case the verdict
Is taken too hard

What we’re seeing
On parade
Is the American justice system
Which is a charade
Cos Rittenhouse won’t lie down
In the bed that he’s made
And in good time
His memory will fade

He came from
Twenty miles away
Locked and loaded
Not to play
Determined to shoot
Whoever got in his way
The question is
Will he be made to pay?




Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

When are we gonna
Become irate
Like we did with
The participants of Watergate?
With those around Trump
Who refuse to state
The roles that they played
In the insurrection’s fate?

When are they gonna
Pay the price
For continuing to follow
A fool’s advice?
And when are they gonna
Be forced to play nice
Or have their heads
Squeezed inside of a vice

When are they gonna
Be forced to testify
So they can be made to pay
For their common lie?
Or will they continue
Simply to defy
The rule of law
That would normally apply?

When, or will we ever
Learn the true facts
Of what precipitated
The January 6th attacks?
Who were the conspirators
And who wielded the ax?
Will our country ever be able
To sit back and relax



Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

There’s no doubt
He plans to run the clock out
By going the legal route
Against the January 6th Committee
That he wants to flout
A Republican majority
Would all but guarantee
That loser’s victory

Against our worst fears
He’s been getting away for years
At least that’s how it appears
And there’s no reason for him to stop
Or to suddenly change gears
If he continues to find success
He’ll continue to do his best
Not to ever convalesce

So now his insurrection
Is underneath closer inspection
He’s practicing misdirection
Hoping to cloud our minds
Just for his self protection
But to give him a resurrection
Would be a blow to our midsection
Cos it was more than an inflection

So those trying to dismiss
What happened on the 6th
Really have me ******
Cos how can we ignore
What happened then
Or days and months before
What kind of message will it send
When the hearing reaches its end?














Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

No one’s in the closet
Anymore
No one has to be there
Like before
Nowadays they open up
The door
To reveal themselves
I’ll tell you more

No one has to hide
What they desire
Or the gender of who
Lights their fire
Or the kind of ***
That they inspire
Just as long as
That’s what takes ‘em higher

No one has to pretend
To be ashamed
Of the preferences
That they have named
Nor can that be used’
Just to defame
The ones who find themselves
Caught in that game

No one can deny that
Things have changed
Lest not those who
Were once estranged
My how some things
Seem to rearrange
To the point where
Few still find them strange









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Do they suffer from PTSD?
Take a closer look to see
They’re not the people
That they used to be
After having been deployed
Multiple times ya see
For them the phrase,
“War is hell!” is  REALITY!

They’re just war veterans
The nation swore to protect
Yet their war related illnesses
Are found to be suspect
So they go largely untreated
But hey what the heck
Is there any wonder
Why their lives are a wreck?

When they went marching’
Off to war
In places that we hadn’t
Been before
To sacrifice on
Some misbegotten foreign shore
They did everything
That we implored

So this Vereran’s Day
When they’re on parade
I ask you to think about
The sacrifices they’ve made
And about their lost comrades
Who can’t be repaid
Before you allow
Their memories to fade
















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Must we respect the dead
Despite the hurtful things
They might have said
Or the incendiary things
From them we’ve read?
Consider  where any of it has led
Before committing
Their rhetoric to your head

He was a racial arsonist
So don’t be mislead
By his black power fist
I hope that you get my gist
About a homophobe
Who was more than this
A Jew baiter and an apologist
For the man whose *** he kissed

He was quite a charismatic speaker
Whose arguments were weaker
Than that of the kind truth seeker
That he claimed to be
Mercy mercy me
He rapidly rose to fame
By calling others
Out of their name

He made his living
Off of selling hate
And invited other to
The debate
And would crush them
Underneath the weight
Of the baseless facts
That he would state





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Facebook has chosen
To avoid their shame
By conveniently choosing
To change their name
But despite the change
They’re still the same
Don’t they know that game
Recognises game

Their sole concern
Is a profit margin
So they don’t care
About us disparaging
Their right to exist
Or their integrity
Which is suspect
‘Far as I can see

Meta is their
Brand’s new name
But it’s still Facebook
Just the same
So don’t buy into
Their tricknology
Or their novel approach
To psychology

Meanwhile
There’s the same disregard
For those
Who’ve been hit extra hard
By their callousness
And lack of concern
Makes one wonder
If they’ll ever learn?










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved,

By: Cedric McClester

We’ve seen nothing
Quite like this
Yet there are those
Who still insist
That they’d prefer
To wait instead
Despite the inflicted
And the dead

I’m not questioning
Their right
To resist mandates
Or to unite
Though they contribute
To our health blight
By instead
Choosing to fight

They’re entitled to
Their points of view
Regardless of how
It affects me or you
Yet no matter
What they say
We’re entitled
To keep them away

We’re watching
This pandemic spread
Among those living
In their head
By avoiding the statistics
That we’ve all read
We’re never gonna
Put this thing to bed






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

My internal
Sense of self
Is unique to me
And no one else
It doesn’t have
To do with ***
So don’t take it
Out of context

Gender and
It’s Identity
Ain’t up to you
It’s up to me
Despite what you
May claim you see
Or use
When you’re defining me

Now I don’t care
How it sounds
Let me choose
My own pronouns
My pronouns are how
I Identify
You have no right
To ask me why

She or her
As it were
Them or they
Others might say
He or him
Identifies men
When it’s felt
Nothing else can








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

When we learned
James Baldwin was dead
From stomach cancer
His obituary read
We accepted the news reluctantly
And said a silent prayer
Then naturally wondered
Who’d be his heir

But alas Baldwin was
One of a kind
And like  a fine jewel
Hard to find
His perspective was
Clearly cutting edge
And sometimes he even
Went over the ledge

Baldwin warned us of
The Fire The Next Time
Borrowed from an
Apocalyptic paradigm
His words have proven to be
Quite prophetic
Yet the changes that occurred
Were only cosmetic

Baldwin pulled off
America’s scab
And revealed the raw under-flesh
That she’s always had
Lurking somewhere
Just beneath the surface
Ya see revelation
Was his sacred purpose









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I’ve told you things
That you didn’t want to hear
And challenged some things
That you’ve long held dear
All in an effort
To make it crystal clear
That I know what it is
That you most fear

All men are created equal
Was nothing more than myth
The moment I was declared
Only one fifth
I was cut down
As if with a scythe
And told to worship
At your monolith

And to further plant
Seeds of my self-doubt
What about the history
That left me out
As if my culture
Lacked stature and clout
Now truthfully tell me
What's that’ about?

So to wrap it all up
In a neat bow
There’s some other things
That you need to know
Like what your destiny
Is bound to show
You’re gonna have to
Reap what you sow







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

You **** right
I’m owed a debt
That you haven’t
Repaid yet
And as you might
By now suspect
That I intend
To collect

You **** right
I’ll take your cash
But cash cannot
Remove the lash
Nor can it
Remove your mask
Or the air of superiority
In which you bask

You **** right
I’ve been aggrieved
In so many ways
You can’t conceive
And I’m owed more
Than an apology
Or deferential treatment
At  a college see

You **** right
I’m still mad
More than my ancestors
Were treated bad
I’ve been scorned  
And been 'buked
Had my back broken
And my shoulders stooped







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

Words by: Cedric McClester

From his conception
Donald Trump was a zero
While General Colin Powell
Was a natural born hero
And much like the Roman Emperor
Nero
Or Vice President Agnew - Spiro
Donald Trump is a villian an antihero

Trump is not fit to shine
General Powell’s shoes
Or stand in his shadow
Which he’ll disabuse
But that’s only because
He’s convinced or confused
That he’s the only one worthy
Of headlining the news

Trump is the devil
Without a disguise
A clear and present danger
Word to the wise
A threat to democracy
Which we should realize
Who remains as dangerous
As the crow flies

Now General Powell
Has finally transitioned
Having achieved
His every ambition
While Donald Trump
Remains on a mission
To recapture what he lost
So he’s still fishing







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

If democracy is bound to fall
Because the base is heeding his call
Though their numbers are relatively small
What’s the point in holding a town hall?
If we’re losing our right to vote
And Republicans vote by rote
Although it’s a sour note
Their rising tide is sinking our boat

If they’re changing our voting laws
On the basis that they have some flaws
And their reasoning is just because
They’ve been lied to without a pause
If we don’t believe in having a king
Then here is the funny thing
We’ve already felt his sting
And his words have a familiar ring

If we're returning to the dark ages
By turning back our history pages
And not enough of us find it outrageous
Then the results are bound to be contagious
If we realize he’s a mess
Then we might as well confess
We’ve lost our freedom nevertheless

If not enough of us are prepared to fight
And we’re walking gently into that bad night
Cos not enough of us are uptight
About losing a basic right
If we’re not gonna go for broke
And just accept the okey doke
Then we’re about to drown or choke
Cos they think of us as a joke








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

(Verse-1)
Can a broken heart be mended
If it’s torn
Cos the love of his life
Is gone?
Or will he just have to somehow learn
How to move on (how to move on)
Despite the fact
That the curtain has been drawn?

(Verse-2)
That chapter of his life
Has been closed
Though memories linger
I suppose
But that’s how
It sometimes goes (sometimes goes)
Still the heartache
Always shows (still shows)

(Bridge)
Can a broken heart be mended
If it’s torn
Cos the love was rescinded
Now long gone?
Does It just make you
Feel forlorn
Or do you
Start to thinkingl you’ve been scorned?

(Verse-3)
Ya can’t help but think
Of your past
When you thought
That your love would last
But now that the dye
Has been cast
Forever seems to go by
Too fast

(Verse-4)
So the question
Still remains
Through the echols
Of The refrains
Constantly
The memory pains
Cos she always
Stays on your brains

(Outro)
Can a broken heart be mended
If it’s torn
Cos the love of his life
Is gone?
Or will he just have to somehow learn
How to move on (how to move on)
Despite the fact
That the curtain has been drawn?

Majanava Music, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

All skinfolk ain’t kinfolk
People that’s no joke
Some you’d love to  hug and kiss
Others you could choke
Some will be there when you need
Someone to go for broke
Others hang around your neck
Like a wooden yoke

Every brother ain’t a brother
Same or different mother
Some you feel a natural bond with
Others you wanna smother
Some you’re really glad to see
Others make you run for cover
Some can have you deceived
Up until you discover

Every friend ain’t a friend
Who’ll be there to the end
Although that’s the message
That they try to send
Some are in you corner
Up until the very end
Others are the kind
Who fool you and pretend

All that glitters isn't gold
Despite the size
Of your bank roll
Often the karatis you are told
Isn’t always
What you’re sold
Cos even slicksters
Can be rolled
















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Now I know there are those
Who’d like me to change the subject
Of how close America came
To becoming a banana republic
Of course I’m talking about
The machinations of one Donald Trump
On and off of
The campaign stump

2020 marked the year
When America came
So very near
To becoming a place
That we all need to fear
And Donald Trump
Made that very clear
This is not hyperbole I’m being sincere

He tried to get the Justice Department
To go along
With his tied and tried
“I’ve been robbed!” song
But received such push back
From the DOJ throng
That he thought better of it
Though he came on strong

If karma and justice
Didn’t fail
Donald Trump would be somewhere
Sitting in jail
Doing his best to
Try to raise bail
By looking for donations
Sent in the mail






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

She’s the manifestation
Of love I see
That’s deeper than
A mere memory
Residing somewhere
Inside of me
She’s my essence
And my epitome

She’s all that a young man
Could have hoped for
Someone who molded
His very core
And made him
The man that he became for sure
And of course I could go on
To tell you more

She knew how to build
My self-esteem
And taught me how
To hope and dream
And although she was part
Of a grander scheme
I pray that my platitudes
Aren’t too extreme

She’s the manifestation of
All that was good
And I thank God for her
As I knock on wood
For she was a blessing
Which I understood
And I loved her then
As I always would








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

What kind of rawhide ******* Is this
That has Hatian immigrants under horses and whips
After making their thousand mile trips?
To get away from their oppressor’s grips
I can’t believe the images I’m seeing
Aren’t Hatians also fellow human beings?
So why are they treated like miscreants
Chosen to be unfortunate recipients?

How can our government justify
This ever happening and what’s the reason why?
Their due process was denied
It’s enough to make one breakdown and cry
This country was built on the backs of immigrants
That sought better lives as erstwhile innocents
And helped this country to grow
As the nation’s history will show

I’d hate to attribute it to them being black
Although that might be a matter of fact
Which is just an excuse but no way to act
Or to have their human rights hijacked
This isn’t the America that most of us know
Though it might be as critical race theory can show
Although that’s a blow that hits below
And kindly remember who told you so

What kind of rawhide ******* Is this
That under a new administration finds us remiss
Perhaps that’s why they say ignorance is bliss
Though I’d like to tell them where they can kiss
You’d think we would have learned from our recent past
Long after the dye has sadly been cast
But that might be me thinking too fast
Which might explain why I’m so aghast






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Black girls go missing
And yo!
The media if ever,
Rarely lets you know
And law enforcement resources
Hardly ever flow
Which is the hard cold truth
That the public needs to know

White girls go missing
And yo!
They move heaven and earth
Which causes one to wonder
What’s a black girl’s life worth?
Call this false equivalency
But my argument
Has added girth

Red girls go missing
And yo!
Only those on their reservations
Seem to know
It doesn't get reported
Or mentioned on a show
That might contribute to
The information flow

White girls go missing
And yo!
We collectively clutch our pearls
To show
Our consternation  and sympathy
Will grow
To the outer limits
Like the show





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.