ODE TO  RIOTERS
The clouds rumble , O! sons of Malice ,hear
The smoke of arson and roar of lies
In the name of God in heaven; to the tune of lords near
Ignorant men  , followers of Dionysus fly like flies.
Think ! read ,what the history of man tells
Of fire that Prometheus brought for our happiness
But, ingratitude of satanic forces by  spells
Inflame the fire of Ire and burn the huts; brings unhappiness.
Tempters like Hera of Zeus pleasantly smile
Resting in Bars or legislatures , counting votes on computer screen
Echo of slogans on Equality, Fraternity, Liberty from a mile
Makes in social conscience  a  scathing scene.
The land of Buddha. Abraham Lincoln, prophets of peace all
Sent by God to every race and all clans dull,
Told the people all over to be kind
Loving ,lovable and of service mind.
(2).
O! political crookedness, in struggle for power  you tempt
People to compete and hate and conquer
By communal spirit forgetting  Divine Spirit and contempt
Religious heads and political aspirants together
Like criminals think and twist the holy ideas, even
They hold holy books in left hand and in right hand gun
And advice disciples to die and **** for heroic heaven
For them, as if death is an easy going fun;
The First Estate of France still as  impulses here in world
Reign the countries as rulers  of Democracy mocking
And they jointly exploit subjects ; and devotees of the spiritual world,
Misguide men and women  by prayers rocking
Hope of Heaven and horror of Hell
Make the people, forget all , and yell
When the villainous leaders signal by baton
The desperados become boys wanton.
(3)
O! devilish War-Lords, do you read Vedic Books?
What they mean ? for you mean? as they tell of God ,the sole Creator
The Creator of you and the “Other”  in your hooks.
The Preserver and Destroyer , may not be for you Pharaohs greater,
O! Pharaohs , you don’t  cause rain, make the Sun rise
And the greenery, birds and fish flourish .
When the Earth rumbles and tsunami rages you give the price
The rewards of hatred you sowed nourish-
All around ,as chemical war terrorism-a horrible nightmare
But, Epicureans! All are from Him and unto Him all shall return.
Marketing competitions and sale of arms cause the Wars
As history reminds us :none gained but failed to sustain peace;
Still, the blunder of division of people and exploitation stars
Rise , at the West with the dying Sun’s horses and Mars.
Politics and Economics -two horses of Civilization unbridled
Terribly gallop with men on them girdled.
(4)
O! cruel  egoistic  businessmen ,you globalize immorality
By greed, you trade with  fanatics and  terrorists,
Spur clashes: Multiculturism versus monoculturism  denying plurality
Challenging Eternity; certainty of scientists.
At Saranath,Lord  Buddha told  disciples on the Middle Path of  life
To Torah “The Lord our God , the Lord is One”, so Jesus taught us all
And guided to worship  God in” Spirit and truth “ in our life
No other Lord but Allah deserves worship of us all-
Allah is the Light of the Earth, and of the Sky ,O! Lord
God is the Eternal  Light  to illuminate all  ;to be worshiped
Bhagavat Gita says,"The body is the temple of God
In the Spiritual realm : all are from the One ,the  worshipped.
God is the only One without birth and death
The Unique unlike the creatures on earth
The Force is called “atma” by Vedas no trade and
Sciences  tell: it is Eternal  , cannot be made by human hand. .
(5)
O! the ill -taught  simpletons , think !why shall we spoil life
in feuds communal or political  for the luxury of masters
Suicide never a sacrifice; if at all ,it is beheading of human in life
At the altar of regal, egotist power-mongers.
The Only God is the  Seed of all; names may differ by language difference
Holy books use all noble qualities to the name the Supreme Lord
Then, why the sons of that One Lord, in repentance
Think on action : virtue  or evil and pray: forgive ,O! Lord
In democracy, we are free to believe  the God or not
Still, we can be human by refraining from paining others
Freeing ourselves from communal hatred, the vicious knot
As the political fences   encircle us that make us enemies of others.
Stars in the sky and the Sun and the Moon
Are mortal ones from God for our boon.
Let us be men and women loving all , serving all;
Not severing heads; but lead a life ,culturally tall.
                                             ***********
Note:atma=soul.

nearly 200 years ago
which means my genetics have directly contributed
to the current system
that continues thrusting knees on the throats
of an entire race of brothers and sisters.  

Sick knots of frustration churn in my stomach
while fist and eyelids clench tight
burning razor tears slowly trickling down my face
at the very idea one of my ancestors--
part of my DNA
once treated a living, breathing woman of color
like a permanent maid meant only to labor inside and outside.  

I'm sharing this to admit and reveal my family's
complacency in a system
continuing to reap the so-called benefits
from a capitalist mindset
that has upgraded beyond physical cold metal shackles,
evolving into ball and chain conversation words
where people worry more about property damage from riots
instead of deaths at the hands of the fraternal order of timeout.  

I'm sharing this to continue conversations
for so long in America have been shuffled around, cast aside
as if it were an embarrassing high school phase
politely laughed away    
like on holidays when my family and I
would listen to grandparent's occasional choice phrases
that began "Well the blacks are just blah blah blah..."

Like a child caught ******* by parents,
our pale shame has made us bury the past below sea level
hoping nobody would notice.
But now, the skeletons are beginning to rise,
seeping through the ground  
along with fears of other dusty bones
buried under the red road.

Many of our ancestors
have been trying to dig deeper holes
with phrases like
"I don't understand, there was MLK and Honest Abe,
what more do  they  want?"
ploughing ahead with fingers shoved in ears
singing "La la la let's just move on, it was a long time ago"
overlooking the equality and empathy  
that has been lacking up to the present.
Like two leaders could wave a magic wand overnight
erasing the dismissive dis-ease of white skinned superiority
we've been weaving into of our laws,
conditioning into our DNA,
evolving from slavery to segregation to target practice and tax brackets
despite singing "Land of the free"
even though there's a disparity
between rioters in inner cities  being called "thugs"
while rioters at sport events are "party goers."

The first step is acknowledgement,
unfortunately we can't force someone to understand,
but we can support and be there
for our brothers and sisters
with kind, encouraging words,
taking steps to pull out
of the land and people selling business,
instead investing in the new currency of presence and attention
unlike my ancestors.
almost 200 years ago.

When one of your own is taken
It is natural to take someone In return
However when you scream race hate and turn around and burn down a town
You will never be treated as people but at as a problem
Now is not the time to riot, it is the time to reunite as a people
It is time to seek justice through a noble cause
It is time to make your voices heard without using fists
It is time to stand as one
Don't perish a boys memory with misdeeds and greed and burning violence
Honor it by banding together and offer a solution by peaceful means of absolute candor
Don't riot
Reunite

it's only deep in the night when my mind wanders most that i ponder why another night of drinking alone is the status quo.  it's when i wonder why the wheel that started spinning so long ago keeps spinning, in the same direction and general speed.  deep in the night is when the doubts and regrets run rampant like rioters through the square, flipping cars amidst flaming tires.  it's when the needs and the wants clash for supremacy, assuring the mutual destruction of each.  loves lost carve their names into my neocortex.  where dreams unrealized fill their time by playing ping-ping until they're ****** from the backburner to manic importance.  deep in the night is when blood-shot eyes and blaring computer monitors have a staring contest.  deep in it, thought becomes reaction and the beans spill accordingly.  knee-deep and we're ravaging the calm into frenzy and burning the books of our beliefs and abandoning rationale in favor of the spectre of immediate gratification at any cost, at any loss.  deep in the night where no light penetrates, things become somehow illuminated.

It's quieter now.
Rioters are long gone.
For reasons  beyond me.
Their anarchic war
Was replace with arctic winds
From far north.
Iciness blows through me
Unthawing the rawness.
Forlorn frozen feelings.
Slowly spreading, soon
I am a hollow iceberg
The world still moves on
Through the bright fire
And I watch from my frigid state.
Sometimes, flames will flicker towards me,
Sometimes, they lick my ice.
Temporary mealting occur.
The memory of water proves too
Tempting for ice to ignore.
But this chilled bliss is fleeting.
Memory turned sour and only to freeze up again
And forget about fire so ice retires from contact.
All I can do is watch on.
Coldness remains in the heart and brain.
As the warmth of health carries on around me.
It is time like this,
That I wait for this age to pass.
For climate change to do what it does best
However weather has always been unpredictable,
And even lava couldn't thaw me free.
Instead I will wait for the return of the rioters.
and prepare to greet them all
and All the choas they bring.

Why can't we all just get along?
Maybe if we all just hit a ****
Bhatiboys, bald heads, reggae mons too
Open your minds, and see what JAH can do
Rioters and looters fighting with cops
Roll up some ****** and the violence stops
Terrorist blowing up the middle east
Some Afghan kush would bring them all peace
If Escobar sold ****, not ***** cocaina
Then the whole world would be a lot greena
We are all JAH's children, so lets all get along
Maybe we could, if we all ripped a ****

Dumb Streets stroll along with brains of blitz
to an evening ritual of bathing with blood
where young smiles melt away and tears dry out,
guilty die and so do the ones who dare to doubt,
audience calls it the crowned fool’s supper
but our fool names it ‘Blooming of the Juniper’.

Dumb Streets poke their pride with ***** knives,
scoop their brains out for the queen of beehives
and surrender their soul for a single penny
which leads them to a war-zone surrounded by jinni.
The poor souls mustn’t retreat to the fool,
who’d treat them as his supper or a war-tool.

Dumb Streets fed-up, riot with sullen spirits,
they burn bridges and **** the fool’s puppets.
The supper gets heavy as the days go by,
our fool feasts on rioters who’ve sworn to die.
Soon the puppets disappear into thin air
and leave the palace for rioters to spare.

Dumb streets have our fool as their supper,
sink their shelters with wine and clutter,
but fail to notice uprising of another fool
who’d played leader of fish in the pool.
Shower mercy O! wise Fool upon your streets,
preach the dumb, who wonder what he eats.

I cried when Barack Obama left office, and I cried for Joe Biden too, as though I'd lost parents of mine,
But Mike Brown and the others had it coming, they were probably resisting arrest,
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal

I go to pro choice rallies and I chant about female anatomy,
I retweeted a #blacklivesmatter tweet once, I think that's just as good as a protest
But don't talk about revolution, that's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered Bernie on the whole way, but eventually settled on Clinton,
I would do anything for free healthcare and education, as long as my taxes aren't too much more
I love all the minorities too, as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal

The people who voted for Trump, should all hang their heads in shame,
I can't understand where they're at, John Oliver should set them straight
But if you burn an American flag, I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me love me I'm a liberal

I read Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone too,
If I vote it's a Democrat with a sensible economic view,
But when it comes to rioters in the streets punching nazis, there's no one more red white and blue
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and my heart bleeding, I bought every Coexist bumper sticker I saw,
Even marched alongside the socialists, thought I could bring the system down with the power of love,
But I've grown older and wiser, and that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
Love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal

Tyres and fires burning
circles of rubber
Rolled down  black tongued roads
Heading to  city centre
Where  others meet
To greet the mighty ruler
With sword and soldiers dressed
In fibreglass shields, green helmets
truncheons with spikes backed water cannons
snipers on rooftops searching for vipers
to drill bullet holes

The tyres rolled in and rounded in a circle
Cutting off escape routes and
Dividing believers and  non-believers
Piled high, pulled tight with pitchfork  patience

The leaders orders more tyres.
Anything from cars, buses and bicycles
that could hold up the  chains of freedom.
Last desperate attempt - not to escape but die
In the ring of fire -soon lit
Underneath the tyres
Which created bursting black flames and bluegrey smoke
Rising above the rants of leaders and shooters
and crackling. Sparks that dulled the day
And lit the night with sparklers of power.

The paratroopers soon retreated into barracks
and the rioters took hold of the city keys,
And over broken glass and burnt buildings
settled in for the long haul to freedom.

The pawns moved on the chess board
  knights moved in the night,
The queen was cornered
and checkmate came when the hollow president
flew  the palace with his coterie of
ear chewers and shoe polishers!

The tyres burned slowly
the fires  burned down slowly.
Freedom came at dawn on the 21 st day
when the rubber factory churned out again
many new models of tyres with tougher treads.

The circle begins again today.
Author Notes

The Revolution continues. All common day gadgets that could burn and blister the new agenda is rolled down the road into the city centre where the
protesters gather to set fire to ambitious policies, unpopular with the people.

The fires from tyres will rage all night and day.
© Marshall Gass. All rights reserved.

My birthday is on the 19th
it'll be a riot
the next day, they say

My birthday is on the 19th
the rioters won't be quiet
come what may

My birthday is on the 19th
I'm not adhering to my diet
that bittersweet day

My birthday is on the 19th
I'm not so happy about it this year

My birthday is on the 19th
the next day fills me with fear

My birthday is on the 19th
can't be near those I hold dear

My birthday is on the 19th
it'll be a riot, they say
come what may, the 19th is my day

Down and out, broken like so many burned out automobiles
Yet blazing infinite with immeasurable conviction &
Rapturous with the weight of destiny
Manic hysteria drove them off the overpass
Hipster Valkyries raised them to avant-garde Valhalla
And the eight o'clock news made messiahs of the lot
Nirvana sold last weeks newspapers on the side of the highway
Rolling with a sweet glimmer of a shark toothed smile
On the horizon hunting for a high that can't ever be attained
Holiest of Holies on a red lipped mountain top
Or a supermarket bathroom stall scrawled with ****** madness
The Lord's Prayer in black ink, brutal and simple
There were misty eyed girls on the morning train to some great and unenviable elsewhere
And by night the crows circled six times, once for each of the dead end dreams swallowed that day
Candid and conscious, where the wild ones roam the city
Burning the flags they wave and waving the flags they burn
America's sweethearts on the run from the police
Sawing at heartstrings like bows on a twisted violin
From the mountains to the valleys the winds screamed senseless in their joy
Liberation and the kiss of a lipstick Judas were on everyone's mind
Martyrs a mile a minute, a dime a dozen
Down the line the angels wept gloria mundi
For the sinners sung with passion, the saints stoically mourned
The revelers and the rioters and the street kids looking for a ride home
The toxic kissed stars that set the city lights the shame
And the masochists, blessed with a gypsy goddess' double edged kiss
And broken down like so many burned out automobiles
Yet blazing infinite with immeasurable conviction &
Rapturous with the weight of destiny

The buildings,
on the horizon,
are falling into the sun.

Crooked eyes,
always question,
the meaning of it all.

And corrupt minds,
will always defy,
the rules and the law.

As we await,
the wrath of,
the Gods.

The present state,
of our mother Earth,
shows we don't care,
about her worth.

The decrepit state,
of our future's minds,
will only fall apart,
over time.

We are falling,
we've fallen.

The torn wings,
of the angels,
have fallen to the ground.

The nuclear bombs,
all exploding,
barely make a sound.

And the roars,
from the rioters,
are incredibly loud.

And we await,
the wrath of,
the Gods.

Let the crooked eyes,
and corrupt minds play.
Let them play their game.

Be one with you,
and we will survive,
we are the sane.

We are falling,
we have fallen.

Brother my brother you are deceived
Love cannot come out of hate
The underground movement you speak of is worthless for God's sake, if you don't fight with love.
We are in a battle not of white or black for the attack you see is spiritual.
Hatred is sin, distrust has no color. Love is the solution my brother. Reexamine your facts and come back to me with a different book to sale. Actually never mind. I already bought the one I need. I heed the words that were written in the story.
It talks about people once enslaved, yes ****** and gory.
But in the sands of Egypt, a leader was saved by the want to be killers daughter in the wading water. What a juxtaposition.
Has your position changed?
The leader of the movement was saved by the person you would hate. The movement was birthed by love. And that only comes from above
So I love you my brother but I can't buy your book. It costs too much to come this far. The water hosed walkers vs. street rioters. I can't buy your book. Not for five dollars or three
But please listen to me. Love is the solution. And it was not free.

By: Cedric McClester

I know what it is we saw
On the streets of Baltimore
Everything we should abhor
Burning, looting and much more
As our history has shown
Once contentious seed are sown
Violence that we can’t condone
Begins when the first stone is thrown

Once we loose the savage beast
And opportunists start to fleece
Their local businesses decrease
And there’s no justice or no peace
Deprivation is the aftermath
Once people choose a violent path
For some it’s fun and so they laugh
But they don’t know much about math

Whole communities disappear
As rioters stand around and cheer
Once the smoke has a chance to clear
We find it’s worst than we had feared
What began as an  expression of pain
Rapidly denigrated before it changed
Which often happens when police are estranged
From communities they police when there’s no exchange

Violence never is the answer
Cos it can metastasize like a cancer
It never was an agenda advancer
Nor a valid argument enhancer
So let’s not try to pretend
That there can be any other end
Nor a position that we can defend
Can I surmise we comprehend?


(c) Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Now the acolytes and apologists
Will no doubt come out and insist
That the mayor of Baltimore wasn’t remiss
I guess you could say ignorance is bliss
But the question remains who was in charge
When the mayor was absent by and large
And the duty of the office wasn’t discharged
While she was busy having her ego massaged

Acolytes and apologists
Have convenient answers for all of this
But those answers only make us ******
When we look back and reminisce
Although it may be an ominous sign
Dereliction of duty comes to mind
Or perhaps it was just blind leading the blind
But it shouldn’t have happened any time

Acolytes and apologist
Have ways of glossing over all of this
Try though we may to get their gist
They make us want to ball our fist
Who’s gonna help build the city back up
When the anger subsides the people are stuck
Because a callous few didn’t give a ****
Acolytes and apologist pass the buck

Acolytes and apologist
Are everywhere explaining this
But the salient fact they must have missed
Is the blame should be placed squarely on sis
What recourse do we have when our leaders fail
When looters and rioters don’t go to jail
Who should we look to, to assail
If not the mayor who's gone stale


© Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester.  All rights reserved.

Now I Really Hate To Say This...
But A Lot of People Now...
Need A SERIOUS Fix... !!!

And I’m NOT Talking About...
Those That Give Dope HITS... !!!

Cos' Most Seem To Need SLAPS...
That Dish Out... REAL FACTS... !!!

Because Our Human Kind...
Seems Unable To Find...
The Way To The Light...

And Is Now Losing Sight...
of What's Wrong And What's Right...

And Now Prefer To Fight...
Rather Than To... UNITE... ?!?

So Racism Is Still...
Something That Chills...
And Needs To Find A FIX...
Where PERMANENCE Lives... !!!

But That’s NOT A Place...
That... REALLY Exists... !!!

Where Fixes Made...
Are Things That Stay...

So Don’t Think That Brexit'...
Is The The Type of Thing...
That Will Work For Brits...
Like... Fish And Chips... !!!

In Fact It Seems Fish...
Were … Somehow Linked...
To This Deal That Links...
Itself To STINKS...
Like Those In Politics...
Who Are Now Just British... !!!

... The Fix Is IN... !!!

Like The Type of Sins...
That Religions Bring...
To... Innocent Kids... !!!

I’ve Got A Fix For The Heads...
of... Religious Sects...
Whose Leaders Are Men...
Who Choose To Protect...
Their ******* Friends...

Who Are Like Regiments...
of Those We Call Feds'...

Who Have NO GOOD DEFENCE...
For How They Cause Deaths...
When It Comes To Blacks...
Who Are Prone To Attacks...
Like Those That Happen...
From This Breed of KAREN’s... !!!

White Chicks Who Need A Fix...
Cos Their Attitudes Stink...
When Their Racism Leads...
To Attacking Black Teens...

Over Losing... I-Phones...
And Blacks Being TOO CLOSE...
To Dogs They Let ROAM..............

As If These **’s... OWN...
The Whole God ****** World... !?!

Just Like Miss Ponsetto'...
Whose Now Had To Go...
To Face The Police...
Because of The Way...
She Treated A KID... !!!

But How She Behaved...
Needs A Fix That Makes...
Karens Think About Things...
BEFORE Being RACIST... !!!

Cos Their Reactions Seem...
To LACK... Humility... !!!

Like Their APOLOGIES... !!!

And That’s A PROBLEM...
That Has NO Defence...

Just Like Capitol Hill...
Against Those Who Filled...
It’s Halls With Calls...
For A Vote Recall... !!!

Because of The DON...
Weren’t These Rioters Wrong... !?!

Shouldn’t They Have Been Stopped...
By... Washington’s Cops... !?!

Well It Would Seem... NOT... ?!?

But Now America’s Shocked...
Because The Hill Got Rocked...
By An... IGNORANT MOB... !!!

Did The Cops Get LOST... !?!
Or Was This All A PLOT...

To Creative A Diversion...
From People Observing...
What’s REALLY Going On...
A... Political CON... !?!

Well No-One Really Knows...
Except Those In CONTROL... !!!

But Some ARE Now Asking... !

What’s Really The Fix...
For This Corona Thing... ?

Keeping Masks On... ?
Or Locking Down Zones...
To Keep People In Homes...
As If That Will Stop...
The Spread of A Flu...
That Is Claimed To Be NEW... ?!?

I Don’t Know About You...
But Much Like Todays News... !?!

Things Just Do NOT Ring True... ?!?

About What Is Viewed...
By Government Crews...
As What We Should Do...
To Make This Flu Cool...
So We Can Get BACK To... !!!

A World WITHOUT Rules...
Like Those Now Being Used... !!!

When NO Vaccine YET...
Has Proven To PREVENT...
How This Infection Spreads... !?!

Or To Be One That CURES...
Because It ASSURES...
An Efficiency Rate...
That's A Hundred Per Cent...
Because NOT One Can Claim...
That It Will Be PERFECT... !!!

And Come On...........
When It Comes To All The Politics...
Surrounding This Thing...
That’s Making Folks Sick...

Some Things Being CLAIMED...
In A Lot of These Quotes...
From Political Folks...
Clearly Are Those...
That Seem To BROKE...

So Are NOT Those Equipped...
To Extinguish This Thing... !!!
In Ways That Could Be...
Deemed To Be Positive... !!!

So I’ll Now End This Script...
With These Simple Lyrics...
That I Really Do Think...
People Should Not Dismiss... !!!

Are We Now Being Tricked...
Into... INJECTING Things...
Like DOPE Heads Needing Hits...

Cos’ The PROBLEM Is THIS...
ALL These Problems Exist...
Because What We Resist...

Is Accepting That We...
Should REJECT Politics... !!!

Because Now Humans Need...
Some... TRUTHFUL Leadership...
And An... AUTHENTIC...

............. “ FIX “...........

By: Cedric McClester

Some question the police
They should be asked at least
As rioters disturbed the peace
Why they watched the violence increase
As incredible as it might sound
They may have been told to stand down
Given conditions on the ground
That would be nothing short of profound

The police used great restraint
But the picture that it might paint
Is it’s clearly what it ain’t
A show of force under constraint
So where do we begin
And how does the mayor fit in
Will someone say who can
To help us understand

Was it just a slippery *****
Or were their hands tied by a rope
Do we need a microscope
And will the answer restore hope
Those who watched couldn’t miss it
Were the police complicit
Cos the riot was illicit
They did nothing to resist it

I’m far from a detective
It's a matter of perspective
Were the police under directive
As some of us suspected
And if so who ordered them
From whence did the order stem
Whether it was her or him
They should preserve life and limb


© Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester.  All rights reserved.

4/20 was ******'s birthday
my sister's birthday is 4/19 so it has been pointed out to me
very bad things happen on either of these days
some that i remember that the facist anti-facists with their black masks, red guard lust, failed parents, ******* teachers, and no future
haven't bothered to revise or laughably attempt to recreate yet:

oklahoma city bombing
columbine
some big oil spill
and maybe on 4/19/21
we will see rioters murdered by their own hands

wouldn't that be nice
to not have any psychopathic, worthless white and asian kids preaching to everyone?
it won't be any sort of loss since they seem incapable of comprehending the actual value of human life
or of being able to live it on their own

what i would like to ask this generation, the even weaker one that came before them, their failed parents, and their *******, demented teachers
is when will they all get tired of being the little ***** for their ******* legacy media/power for the few communist/big tech gods? when will they get tired of that?

when the chauvin verdict is announced and when he is not found guilty, because the worthless defense team couldn't do anything but prove this was all staged, this was all staged, this was all staged.

it doesn't seem like they will get tired of that soon,
in seattle, in san francisco, in new york city you can steal $1,000 worth of merchandise. it's just as good as legal.

the stores are moving out.
how convenient for amazon
and all the slave owner cheaters in china.

i don't think they will get tired of it anytime soon.
make a documentary about a dying, homeless man who prostitutes
himself on the streets and calls himself a woman.
after he talks about the neglect and abuse of his childhood,
while clearly displaying symptoms of mental illness and drug addiction
so they can all watch it and leave comments on how brave and beautiful the dying homeless man is. only they will say the man is a beautiful, lovely woman. "such a sweet personality, this beautiful woman has", they will all comment.

but the man is dying. he looks like a man. he has been abused, he is addicted to hard drugs that are killing him. he is bruised. he prostitutes himself and tempts death on a daily basis and all you can say is that he is a beautiful woman.

nothing is ever said of how sad his homelessness, occupation, drug addiction or childhood is. no one is concerned that he is at death's door, they just want to show the love for the delightful woman that he isn't. no one cares about the abused little boy he once was or the dying man he is now.

God is angry every day.
4/19/21 or 4/20/21 are both really good days to be angry.

I, the capitalist war machine,
I, the magnificent static,
I, the bomb shelter peace,
I, the twenty four hour news cycle, the rise, the relapse, the detox, the retox, the crucifixion, the rebirth, the disgrace, the continuation of the theme repeating ad nausea towards annihilation,
I, the caged ******,
I, the black boy bleeding to death,
I, the rioters in the street,
I, the Wall Street gallows,
I, the old money militia,
I, the yuppie **** appropriating culture from the scraps of endless genocide,
I, the shock value mockeries of conventional moralities dumbed down to be digested,
I, the blood spilled on sacrificial altars on holy ground,
I, the celestial body ignored, passing back and forth endlessly through peripheral visions,
I, the madman howling at the moon for some ******* peace and quiet
I, the pill popping siren choking on adoration,
I, the mass hallucination shared and reshared till it loses all meaning,
I, the Pantheon collapsed,
The downfall broadcast,
The television unplugged and still playing,
I, the crushing realization,
The devastating grip of ruinous apathy,
The movement monetized,
The victory shallow,
I have built this tomb with my own hands,
I have changed the channel one too many times,
I have let this consume me
I am guilty
You are no better
Lie still
Let it consume you

content warning: sexism, racism, homophobia, ableist slurs, ****** assault, alt-right political commentary, abuse, prostitution

The okra stalks
now wilted
bend beneath
the winds of America’s plains.

As I’ve occupied myself with
a Yankee college’s schoolwork,
my means of feeding myself diminish
as I don’t have the time or energy to

water,
**** the bad bugs,
retie the plants to their rightful stalks,
and finally clean myself off.

Although my family qualifies for “government handouts”
as my momma calls them,
she sends it back every time.
The price?

Hunger gnawing at my stomach,
basic needs left unmet,
my “liberal” professors failing to grasp
what their own students face.

But women don’t deserve an actual education,
because in America’s Bible Belt
the woman’s future is confined
to a Southern home full of sweat and pregnancies.

I can always tell when my momma
runs a deficit on bills.
I can hear it,
although I try not to—

“Thank you for the tip, honey.”
She drawls,
and I know her bedroom door
is locked.

Before I knew what she was doing
when I was too young to know—
I caught glimpses of the different men
as they’d leave.

I don’t know why,
but I hated them all.
One would smoke cigarettes on the porch,
and later I’d kick around the used butts.

Now that she’s older,
she has resulted to
pimping me and my little sister out
against our will—

whether she intended for it to happen or not.
I’ve come to understand that
at least in America’s South,
virginity doesn’t exist.

A woman’s only purity
lies within having the right skin color;
some STDs can be overlooked
as long as they can still populate the Southern landscapes.

For the first time I had seen my momma
in over two weeks,
I greet her with a happy smile while washing dishes.
Her look of disgust remains unchanged.

“You need to register to vote!”
She says, yet I don’t have my driver’s license.
I remain silent.
I can hear the political commentary over the radio:

“String ‘em up,
shoot ‘em down!
Stop being so autistic,
and abide by the Party doctrine!”

Being in the South,
I know what the Southern gentleman meant
over the radio,
yet I still find its charged language alarming.

String ‘em up: Hang the Yankee professors who help me
Shoot ‘em down: Put down the “rioters” and “looters”
Autism refers to following rules of governance,
and the Party…

When my little sister registered
as a lesbian liberal,
momma never raised that much Hell.
She went off with a man for a few days to cool off.

I remember crying,
kneeling before my nativity set and the cross in my room,
hands clasped in prayer,
begging God to inform me on what to do.

I’ve tried to be a good Southern girl my whole life,
despite not being white,
being born into a single parent household,
and living in poverty.

I tried to be educated as a means of providing for my family.
However, my grandma tells me that’s unnatural.
My momma tells me to stop being stuck in my books
and to get some fresh Southern air.

I am left to ask, pleading for God to tell me
as humanity itself has failed to help me:
How can I be redeemed
from the sin of being born?

Police brutality is a huge factor
Continue to move forward & never look backwards
I pray for loved ones in 2020 that we lost
Fighting for equality like me no matter the cost
Police tells us nobody is above the law
Yet kneeling on your neck, staring you down as if they’re God
My weapon is my fist & my 45
I assure you I will protect my family & what is mine

Police brutality is a huge factor
Killing blacks one-by-one like we don’t matter
Rioters riot while protesters are beaten in the news
Cops speak in codes, waiting on a signal from their superior just to execute
Trying to survive 2020 dog, somehow
Praying racism will be gone so our color can bloom now
Being black in America is beautiful in my eyes
Keep chanting “BLACK LIVES MATTER” no matter what, & everything will be alright