In all these steps that we take
We'll discover the mistakes that we make
Every single day that we walk
We learn new things from the people who talk

We all just hope to move on
Get over things that went wrong
Never look back
And move on forever ahead

At times I find myself blind
Not seeing friends family or lies
All collecting up the pieces of myself
That I've left behind

In the end I'll apologize
Tell every single person that I lied
And that I never meant
To hurt someone like you

Free healthcare is crazy
Free college education is crazy
Unions are crazy
High wages are crazy
Affordable housing is crazy

War is sane
Police shootings are sane
0% corporate tax rates are sane
Cutting social spending is sane
Toppling democratic regimes is sane

Welcome to hell
On earth
Where we bring hell
To earth

I'm trying
I swear I'm trying
Not hard enough
But the best I can
These city streets
Are re-paved
All the friends
You've known
Gone
What does it feel like
To see your city
Your friends
Your family
Bought and sold
Under tourist banners
Ubers
Lyfts
AirBnBs
And city planners
I'll tell you a secret
If you promise to keep it safe
The city is bought and sold
Developers dictate the rate

As my hand ran down her leg
She blushed and turned her face
So many times we've been here
But after a few too many bars
A few too many lies
We're strangers again
Blushing at the touch
Of one another

Things change
They say
Little do they know
History writ large
The formula
Cities must embrace
Lest we become Detroit
Cause no one lives in Detroit
Right
What's wrong with money
What's wrong with change
You mad cause I made things pretty?

See what you don't see
Are those things that hurt
Everyone you see
Your dollar signs
Pushed people away
That you will never see
So you'll never really know
What change means
When change is just chump change
To the game you're playing
To the souls you're taking
To the paper that subdues
Your conscience
Or maybe
You just don't get it

When you think what you see
Is wrong and not meant to be
When you think what you feel
Is wrong and done stupidly
When you think your hair
Is not the way its supposed to be
When you think your eyes
Are the wrong shape making you funny
When you look at your skin
And question its color
When someone calls you one thing
But you know youre another
When someone calls you an other
And you know it hurts
When youre in a room
And you feel like youre alone
When you apply for a job
And know why youre ignored
When you try and find your place
But find theres no place for you

The City of San Francisco
The wealthy playground
For those with enough to
Kick someone else out
Gentrification
Letting capital flow
As it will
"It's all good"
If you have money
If not visit Oakland and push
Someone else out
What happened to a city
For the people
What happened to life for life itself
Not life to make dollar signs appear
When it all ends
Will you be in a place surrounded by love
Or debts owed to petty thieves
The city is dying
Don't just sit and watch it bleed

Sometimes that's just how
It feels
Walking down the street alone
There is someone sitting on the sidewalk
Who doesn't have their home
As you go to yours
Your mom yelled at by your
Father every day
Brothers and sisters beat up
By familial ties
Tying you down
Till what happens you get up and go
Turned around
Flip yourself upside down
Your friends kicked out of the city
As rich ones move in
Who cares about the people
Only the people
Who have someone to care about
Not some thing
Not this ring or that piece of land
Some person who they can share their heart with
Bring it back to the bottle
Drown it all out
As your bones get weak
Your body breaks down
Pour it down until you're nothing left

She takes her clothes off
Only for herself
He keeps his mind off
Everyone else
She keeps her promises
With no one to tell
His mind is weak
Open to spells

The dulling force of
Reality
Weighs heavy on the mind
Of the imaginative
Captures their dreams
And wishes
Mixed in a pool of hope
Slowly drained as the night
Gives to day

I stay calm
Even in evil places
I still see all the faces
But don't let it faze me
I stay rooted and strong
Even in the Devils lair
I cry for the wrongs
And prepare all the saviors
I used to get it all wrong
Pushed on by the anger
I swallowed pride down
Letting love replace fear
Today I move on
From replaying the useless
I'll catch cold tongues
But then set them loose again

So I guess
That I have
To miss
Things
Like you
I wish
The best

Here I am
I need friends
More
MORE
I need likes
I need looks
I need love
Come to me
Come
See
SEE

In America
White supremacy
Rules
Domestic and abroad
The wallet is clutched
By a white hand
Usually male
White supremacy
Is not talked about
Post-race era
In the middle of
The new Jim Crow
"White lives matter"
They scream
We know
Turn on the TV
It's all we hear
Sacrifice yourself abroad
For the white imperialist
Because don't you know
Your life doesn't matter

That man
Eaten by the city
Ain't lookin pretty
Big limp
Bigger frown
Up late nights
Up early mornings
Assimilate
Smile
Or try
You will get eaten alive
Not to romanticize the country
Or the burbs
The city is beautiful
If it's for the people
Not for the profit

Up north
Where we held hands
And thought about fires
For us to sit by
I'll be yours on the west
If you'll be mine on the east
Peace and happiness
All we had

It's what's happening

***

Is positive

Hate is negative

Where did we
Come from
Our mothers
And our fathers
Why do we censor
Our discontent
With women
And men
What's wrong
Being positive
What's wrong
WITH ***

Don't hurt you
They help you
Don't doubt you
They tout you
Don't judge you
They hug you
Real friends love you
They don't leave you

Falling numbers
Breathing airwaves
Signals change
Clouds remain
The light it flickers
Through the door
Heavy breathing
Anchored floors

The white man leaves his house
Some white women leave theirs
The rest wear spandex and push stroller
The Latino man comes
To build houses to paint houses
The Asian man comes
To build houses to paint houses
The Latina women comes
To take care of the kids
Some Asian men and women
Work in the laundry mat
The rest of the businesses
Owned by white people
The white man comes back
Some white women come back
And everyone else leaves

As a child he had a fire in his heart
As a young man he kept it close to the start
As an adult now he falters in his words
He has forgotten his path and his heart
Troubled with the lack of dollars
All he sees now are diamonds and bills
Suppression of mentality
It makes me weep

How did this
Happen all
Of a sudden
Mechanize life
Down to the days hours
Minutes seconds
What happened to this hole
Is for food
This pole is for ***
Now a hole in the schedule
Is the only place to stick it

Unless it's
A cooperative
Someone's working
Too hard
Big boss
Is stressed
Is it stress
That makes you an
Exec?
Or lack of brains
Like a puppet set

I'm already beat
I just want that silver or bronze
Who wants it anyway
Straight from the top to the bottom

Waking up
In someone else's skin
In someone else's city
These dreams crumble
Searching the ground
For someone else's crumbs
They just moved in
From the burbs
Now others move out
Not to the burbs though
Not if your dough low
Not when this is where your roots grow
Planted seeds sprouted trees
You can't just uproot
Because someone else now finds the soil attractive
What about when it was radioactive
When pockets weren't as packed then
Now it's a forced migration
These dreams like buildings crumble

Cracks that bleed
Popping at the seams
A nation of thieves
"Strong vs weak"
This thin veneer
Is catching less ears
More apt to see
Those shed their fear
Casting light
On treacherous plights
Orchestrated by the rich
Maintained by knife
Many are sick
Of the daily strife
A wealthy nation
Where poverty is life

Picturesque moments
Flood your time zone
All the way down
You had a smile on your face
What it takes
To finally get away
At home your heart breaks
Now you're miles away

Walk outside
There are holes in the ground
Many say white only
Some say Black only
Others say Chinese only
And we jump into them
It's time
To pave the streets anew

How many ppl
My age would rather
Jump than swim
How many ppl
How many backdoor deals
Does it take
To rip apart the fabric
Of your society
How many ppl my age
Are fiscally waterboarded
Would rather be boarded up
Than on the outside
Watching everyone get bled dry

Dance
By yourself
See how beautiful
Your steps can be
All by yourself
See how good
Your own moves can be
Then dance
With others

Scared of ghosts
In your dreams
I go toe to toe
Everyday
I live where you don't go
I blow smoke in their absence
I fill the ghosts with trees
So they can cough and breathe
What they once kicked you out for
I blow it back in their face like Cole
Train runs through this room
I'll go toe to toe with your ghosts
I'll laugh in their face while I sit in their place
Doing everything they scolded you for
I'll do it for you
While you stay trapped in your dreams
I'll bring it to life
For you and me and the rest of the family

A nation that bleeds
Unwilling to confront the past
The last thing we need
Is celebration and blasts
The unequal treatment
Race gender and class
Shines so clearly
With Donald Trump laughs
In this time reflection
Will shine a better path
Reconstruction Redistribution
Instead of indifference and death

Big brother
Please come
You do hold the key

Without you
I'll run
Straight back to the sea

Big brother
You sneer
Why don't you see

You're a tyrant
I'm done
Please get up and leave

What do you do
When you can't escape your dreams
Can't run from all the things
You never want to see
Can't hide from all the thoughts
That were never meant to be

Like a storm that comes down
Drop by drop

Who terror
Rises up with the flag
Claiming a land of their own
Gun in pocket hate in their heart

Who terror
The man with a job
Trying to get by
Snatched up by Patriot Act lies

Who terror
Razes churches with bells ringing
Hate speech home page
Wants slavery and return of the KKK

Who terror
A different religion
A different color
A different way

When I first came in
I was a little scrawny
Not the type of day
That would shine light
Until I met you
And noticed your desire
Then I hit the gym
Push push push
Tried to emit
What I sought to imitate
For your own sake
I thought I could satiate
I sure was consumed
Muscle n all
Spit back out
Licking my paws
Now I'm stuck
Sweatbands and tearglands
Inflated
Defeated

Terror ridden
She struck his head
With blows of regret
Misinformation
And terrible ***

I remember
How I forgot
Walking back with you
Over what I was under
Fed up with things
We walked back
From their apartment
To my place
Sat out on the bed
Smoking
You get a call
About your grandfather
In tears I walked you back
In tears I did too

RIP in SC

History only repeats
Until the lessons are learned
Keeping faith in the streets
Not locked up at home
They killed the abolitionists
Years and years ago
Here we are with iPhones
The fight is still going on

That man with the brain
Sits in a chair
That man with a chain
Sits in a cell
That woman with a drain
Cleaning all the dishes
That woman with a pain
Got a baby to take care of
Who's making this world spin
They know the ones who get broke
This world sits on their shoulders
While the dopeman peddles dope

Sometimes I need some
One to bounce back off me
Give and take
Tug and pull
But to stretch it out
Gain strength
I'm sick of running
In the same place
Companions that bleed
You dry of your voice
Till youre cornered as a baseless
Beast feeding off negative energy

Do we lose our friends
Or lose ourselves
Do friends lose their path
While we don't stray
Who gets eaten
Who comes out the other side
Who makes these decisions
To live our lives

Even in my dreams
I worry about how
Much beer I got
Even when I sleep
I turn over
All those thoughts
With no escape for peace
My mind is working
Off the clock
Even all these trees
Can't seem to block
All these memories

Check the phone for work
Check the phone for love
Check the phone for friends
Check the phone for time
Check my pulse for life

Hide lies
Don't be afraid to
Be afraid
Come in like saran wrap
Leave like tin foil
Got nothing on trade
Except bad ideas
Trying to control with secrets
Behind doors
Companies and rulers of the free
World rulers
TPP will ******* and me

Taking steps
Step by step
Taking hours
Minutes by seconds
Taking grief
Piece by piece
Losing sleep
Dream by dream

Shuffled in
Moved like cattle
Numbers on the forehead
Making money off of death
Gotta keep it white
Like sanitary
To clean up all the *******

I leave the light
On until I get
A good feeling
Then I turn
It off and go
To sleep
Watch as we turn
All by ourselves
Treasures on our shelves
While we wait for stronger
Sails to take us away
And let us be how we
Really want to be
Sometimes
That sounds ok to
Me

A stranger came in
The middle of the night
Stole all my things
Well not a stranger
A known theif
I let it all happen
So now I sit
In this empty home