Since the 80s
Any parties for working people
Have virtually disappeared
The most well known
"Democrats"
Took a hard right turn
Now pro-war, deregulation
Slashing social services
Criminalizing youth of color
While the Republicans
Went further and further right

Now we have two conservative parties
The center right big D Democrats
And the far right Republicans
A vote for Trump
Was a vote for facism
A vote for Hillary
Was a vote for neoliberalism
There were more than four candidates
Did you know?

This is also known
As the one party system
More dems voted repub
Than other way around
******* DNC
******* RNC
The snakes are all on the same plane

Maybe the first
Child gets overloaded
With expectations
Extra weight
Carried
Not felt by
Brothers and sisters

Do you ever
Notice
The way things
Come
Crushing in
All at
Once
Sometimes
My anxiety
Peaks

I guess
The
Does ****
The pain
But now
Adays
I'm just
In a daze
Faded
****** up
And
Lonely

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

Left in a barrel
Thrown out to sea
Forgotten and lonely
Life’s misery
Is now their company

I've been trying
Trying trying
To become a better person
To do the things
I say I'm going to do
To do the things
That I think about
That I know I should do
Support the people
I should be supporting
Surround myself
With people that support me
I've been working towards
A better me
That helps people
The way I know I should
That organizes the community
That fights against bigotry
That tries to end oppression
That fights for the oppressed
Someone that thinks less
About themselves
And more about
Others
I've been trying so hard
For so many years
To be a better me

Others may like you
But do you like yourself
That is the question
They failed to tell
String it along
Like one huge game
Play the right moves
Say the right things
To uncover the truth
Just hold your breath
Others may leave you
Just try your best

Its hard to love someone
You dont respect
Especially with relationships built
On alcohol, drugs and ***

Its hard to not fight
With something that you regret
When all that you think of
Are things you cant take back

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

You hide
In peaceful places
Bringing unrest
That is fabricated
Trying to mutilate
The movement
From AIM
To King
You disrupted Civil Rights
COINTELPRO
Now you’re back
In Oakland
Waving your gun
Hiding in plainclothes

Always going back to back
With shots to the liver
Never thought of what might come

Always lost bring myself to the giver
Asking to be forgiven
And for life unknown

Always ended up getting paid
In full
Confidence, violence, and inflated egos

Can we please play truth or dare
What are you really here for?
Leave forever

Allergies exist on a scale
From mild to severe
I once had a friend
Who did not understand why I had allergies
Why I always sneezed
And had to blow my nose
Why I always opened a window
And looked like ****
The allergies became a nuisance to people
Annoying
In the way
Obstructive
Then one day
That friend developed allergies
He came over sneezing
Is this what it’s like?!
I feel so bad for you
I never knew how it felt
My body is attacking me
It’s horrible
You don’t have to experience things
To show kindness
Simple acts of sympathy and empathy
Carry other miles

Who are you
No one wants
A mirror
Shined back
On themself
If I grow up
In time
Will it tell you
Just exactly
Why we’re here

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

Its always revolutionary women

Organizing
Working
Leading
Taking charge

Denouncing
Ignorance

Like what use am I
What can I even contribute
Always second guessing myself
Always always
I never think
I'm good enough
It hurts to say the truth
Sometimes
Because sometimes
I just can't say the truth
When I really need to
Self doubt
Self loathing
Self anger
I just want to help others

While everybody leaves the city
Still sees the city
But just watches it bleed
I’ll be here all weekeend
All year
In the trenches on my knees

Excuse me sir
The words were uttered
Surprised I turned
To see another

"If I may please have a second of your time"
"Sure" I said "That will be fine"

I'm sorry I'm at a loss for words you see
I've been out here since 8am
Everyone I've asked has passed me by
Looked me over as if I'm not a man

The time then was 1:30 in the afternoon
Dumbstruck I did the math in my head
Five and a half hours in the same spot
People treating you like you was dead
That's ****** up
Is all I could say
Open my ears
And listen away

I know you are late for a movie
And busy with your time you must be
I know you work hard for your money
That in this life nothing is free
I know people may be suspicious
Thinking with money I will burn and waste
I promise you that I am only hungry
Food the only thing I will take
For this please sir I ask you
If you may take the time
Could you please get me some pizza
I won't ask you for a dime

Please sir I assured him
If food is what you need
Take this and buy some
We all need to eat

Looking down he received the gift
Smiling back holding out a hand
Mine stretched out we did shake
The recognition of a man

"Enjoy the food" I did say
"And you the film for me"
Turning around he walked off
After hours on the street

In my mind this man did stay
His eyes burned into my brain
Worth of life measured in wealth
Class divides remain

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

You catch your girl naked
She says why are you here
That's when you know
It's been five years

I just want to treat you right
Someone that I actually like
Someone that will stay the night
Who doesnt leave before it turns light
In my dark times
I look for people i can fight
Ones that **** up my life
That don’t care what’s inside

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

In case we forget
It's all written down
Days go by
And by and by
Forward we seem to move
But forget
Forgetting and forget
As all things move
Forward
Don't forget what's in the past
It's all written down

Talk is cheap
Agree that the problem is inaction
And do nothing
More comfortable shopping online
Than doing something
That is a waste of their time

Waves rock
Back and forth
Time takes me
Back to sleep
Moonlight pools
Travelers steps
Curled up
I'm falling back

Let's be honest
Like more
Masculine
*******

Like more
Treat like
****
Stereotype

Like more
Comfort in
The television
Screen

Fake phone numbers
Fake smiles
Fake stories
Fake truths

Like more
Of what's less
Stare into fake
See what's real

If I was a child
Barely grown up
Would you resent me for my mistakes
Or learn how to love

When I was a teenager
Failing in school
Did you think I was stupid
Or just unamused

After graduating college
Now a bit older
Are you ashamed I'm unemployed
Or of the world I'm to shoulder

If I was 45
Leading your same life
Would you scold me for my faults
Or praise me that I tried

When I'm a bit older
And my hair turns grey
Will memories of you
Be the best or worst days

Losing my mind
Without something to put in it
As darkness shines
I lose feeling in my toes
Panic grips my chest
My brain running
How will I get out of this alive
From night comes day
But I'm terrified

To get love
We must learn
How to receive it
To gut love
We must learn
How to deceive it

Plainclothes
Strolling
Through the neighborhood
Looking kinda like
You and me
The only difference is
The license to ****
Playing
Like a bond movie
With human lives
This ain't
M16
This is
USA
Where a police badge
Can take your life away

Wake up feeling like ****
One last thing I can do
Take a hit
At least open it
At least feel into it
The loneliness of the dark
Don't become hardened
I promise you a way out
Stop hating the people you love
Start loving the people you hate
To be ok with your face
Be ok with your every day
These lonely lonely days
Every step that I take
Is a deep breath
A conscious step to keep moving on

What's the point of these shoes
When you won't run the track
I signed up for the marathon
But I doubt I'll be back

The colors
Of our mothers and fathers
Do not
Need to be the colors
Of our paintings

Tangled up melodies
At least your song plays
Skinny arms and wrists
You're the girl I never kissed

Drinking up sorrows
For the songs that never play
Fill the void with cheap liquor
Easy escapes we should never make

The City in the 70s
Things painted diversely
Yet discrimination runs deep
A mother out to buy ice cream
English a foreign notion
Coming to the store
One pint of ice cream at the counter
Unable to converse
Chinese not understood
"That will be $50 he says"
Takes the money
Shamelessly
As she leaves
Ice cream for her son
Her son who did then weep
The character of a person
He knew
Defined by their actions
The seeds that you sow
Are the ones that you shall reap

I hope to stay true
Stay glued to something
At least one thing
I can be honest about
Completely
True to myself
True to you

Walking over the homeless
Like everything's fine
Like they're just a part of the landscape
Like a crack in the asphalt
Running over our minds
With useless thoughts of grandeur
Everyone wants to be the best
Not seeing their brother and sister on the street

Only when I inhale
Breathe in
Then let it back out

Am I able to be found
Chess piece off the board
Returned to the crown

Two wheels
By the beach
Riding over concrete
Flashing by
Where you go
Only you will know

I am empty
Empty empty
A bottle once full
Spilled on the floor
A feeling that is fleeting
Still searching for more