A butterfly flutters through the streetz,
Above the dried bloodstains;
Its wings bat away toxic breaths
Perverse and untamed.

A butterfly flutters through the streetz—
Great beauty of little worth.
Through tear gas, dodging bullets
With wings like the Fellbeasts of Middle-earth.

A butterfly flutters through the streetz,
No smile, no glance, no words to speak.
It wipes away a child's fresh tear
As it passes by its cheek.

Waking up to a heavy chest
My body begging me to sleep again
And my anxiety begins the second I realize I'm alive
I'm trying to learn to function
With all of this negative energy inside me
I know it'll pass and
I know it'll get better
But right now it hurts
I feel unloved
Unloveable
I feel lost inside myself
A place I can't stay too long
Before I lose my mind
I can tell myself I'm worth it and
That my worth isn't defined by others
And it works for a bit
Until something else comes up and
My heart loses its energy
And I either feel like giving up
Or ready to fight everyone

It was a dark night
Streets lights were there to reassure me of my existence
As I ran with my shadow following me leaving foot prints on the floor
Cop cars, sirens
Neighbors knocking on my door
Black chucks, blue laces
I seen this happen too many times before
Surrounded by red blood
Spattered like the paint I use to tag up my name over the city
The numbers 1992 tattooed on his leg
Seeing my loved one laying there on the pavement
I didn’t want to think he was dead
The panic, the sweat and the tears
This is what happens when you been living here for years
Same hood, rival enemies
Catch the bullets flying in the sky
You’ll be lucky enough if you catch one and don’t die
This life of mine feels like a dream
A nightmare I wish that I could wake up from
You know what I mean?
Why should the life of this shorty have to be so rough?
I’m looking for the way out
Before I’m next then blaow that’s the end.

These low income kids need more motivation
My teachers don’t know the problems we are facing
I am not a rich privledged girl
I am a chicana, raised in the ghetto type of girl

Let me take you inside of my world
Just next to my house is where the gangsters meet
If you say something wrong
They’re quick to leave you dead in the street
Graffiti and gang signs is all you see on the walls
If you take a walk and hear shots
You wouldn’t want to be in deep

Cops can stop you just because they can
People like us, do you really think they give a ****?
My brother is always getting stopped by a white man
They tell him “Put your hands over your head”
Any sudden movement and he is for sure dead

In the night the guns are pulled
Gang enemies coming over
Looking for problems up to no good
The street rules are in place like it would
Gun shots and sirens are playing in the background of my hood

Poverty makes times even more rough
I didn’t get new kicks for Christmas
I guess it’s just my luck
I have faith in God that I will get out of being stuck
I have decided I have had enough...