I think I'm better off admiring things & people from a distance.
I always mess things up when I get too close.

I am a *****
Minus the triggers being pulled and the drugs being sold
But just a black man bold enough to face a world so cold
A cold world we call society
When being black and sobriety doesn't mix because we use drugs in variety
But quietly
I am a *****
Thinking what made this word so negative
Is it because we made it positive
Or is it negative we became cognitive enough for a scholarship
Yes, I am a *****, no I'm not a rapper
But this system makes me sick enough for chicken soup and crackers
Yes, I am a *****, and I am an athlete
And I still maintain my sanity from having my *** beat
Although I am a *****, I am not lesser than you
Nor am I second to you
I just wonder what it takes to get the message to you
Crazy I'm a ***** yet I still know my father
Crazier calling me a ***** doesn't give me a bother
Maybe it's crazy that I'm a part of the problem
What's craziest is I'm a ***** still attending a college
You should have no problem reading this regardless of race
What's absurd is a word means more than a face
We're more focused on race than we are as a species
But I'm going to sit back and take a sip of this sweet tea
We went from black panthers, huge bushes, picks, and combs
I thought words could never hurt you?
What happened to sticks and stones?

That is what poets do

They romanticize pain
They idealize the torment

There is solace in darkness
Which they craft to enlighten;

Lure with words
The forlorn is adorned
Guilt is charming
Mistakes rewarding

That part that is revolting
The best line in their poems.

That is what poets do

They embellish heartbreak
To cement the heartache

But as soon as they leave their paper
and beautiful words captivated readers

Life can no longer render
The adequate metaphor
Agony is agony;

There is no substitute for it.

It's in the way your heart bleeds but still believes in love. 
It's in the way your smile brightens up the room.
It's in the way your nurturing spirit makes the young feel safe.
It's the way you take precision in your choice of words
It's in the way you're selfless in loving
It's in the way you're not proud in learning.
It's in the way you appreciate all that is in & around you.
It's in the way you let pain camp in your heart because love bought it there and you'll do anything for love. 
It's in the way your fingers search for his in everything...
It's in the way you're so perfectly destroyed.
It's in the way your doubts scream yet you choose to listen to your naive love be-living self..

Love..

after he ****, he asks me what time my curfew is
I told him it doesn't matter

after he ****, he says he's tired
so I don't talk

after he ****, he doesn't look at me the way he did in the beginning
I turn around and look outside the window

after he **** he doesn't want to touch me anymore
I keep my hands to myself

after he ****, he wants to go home
but I want to lay on his chest

you tell him you love him




he changes the topic

don't fall for me,
i'm a mess.
i'm going to drag you into my mess.
i told him...
but he didn't listen.
& now he's broken & wondering how it happened.
but didn't your mother warn you,
not to fall for girls with fiery hearts?
because everything we touch burns.
now you're burning,
& all i can do is watch.