Black body armor
clear plastic shield and face mask
backed up by a black baton
hungry for crunching bones
thirsty for flowing blood
and these playground bullies
are just the tip of a crimson iceberg.
It takes a lot of dead elephants
to build an ivory tower
and the men in power
aren’t afraid to burn a lot of green
to build their castles.
I dress in black
and raise my fist up high
against a midnight sky
and you look at me
like I’m a little green Martian.
What did you expect?
I’ve got a pair of eyes.
I can see through your TV lies
no matter how much
I want to sit at home
and believe that the emperor’s not naked.
Do you think I want to be here
choking down a gutful of fear
to throw a brick through some Starbuck’s window
just to watch my face shatter
in the reflection?
I got better things to do.
If you only knew
the way that sunsets make me smile
and the way that the eyes of a woman
make my heart go pitter patter
you might not be so hungry to batter
a face that has felt so many tears.
I want you to throw down your tear gas gun
so we can have some fun
dancing through the streets arm in arm
like children playing in a concrete jungle gym.
But the chains around your neck
are tighter than mine
and the men with necktie leashes
bark orders to you
that were whispered to them
by a stack of dollar bills
running through a money counter.
Oh my god
it doesn’t even take a concussion grenade
to make me cry.
My head’s pounding
like I’m gonna die
but this empty hole in my chest
makes me think you already killed me.
The same damn system
that cloaked you in body armor
like a medieval peasant screaming in an iron maiden
has got me dressed in black
and fighting back
even though I’d rather hug you.
Can you see it?
Can you see it in my eyes
the hint of green mountains
and summer skies
a world where you and I
sit together at the same table
to map out our dreams
without being strangled by the invisible hand
and the cold steel gears
of a centralized State
of mind?
Right now it’s hard to see
through the teargas haze
and the twisting, turning maze
of a thousand blind alleys
that the cattle prods of progress
have herded us down.
But I can feel it in my bones
feel it in the arms of a friend
hear it in the calls of the crowd
I can even read it in the trembling letters
that my pen lays down on paper.
You tried to bury my still-beating heart
six feet under the blacktop ground
but I’m still around
like a butterfly emerging
from its battered cocoon.
Your strangling steel chains
made a part of me die
but I broke through your lie
and now it’s time for me to fly.
I live for the day
that you tried to take away
with your puke green money
shoved down my throat.
My breath is the wind
that sings through the trees
and sets the birds free
to fly in the sky forever.
My hands are the tools
to plant the new seeds
to weed out the greed
and draw us a map
of a path we can walk together
My heart is the beat
that pounds in the street
and sets the rhythm
for dancing revolution.
So please, please
open your eyes
and don’t be surprised
if you see me laughing.
There’s blood all around
burning bones on the ground
but I can see beyond this reality.
I can see it in your face
and in the glimpse of a space
where we all can shed our armor.
So please take my hand
and walk with me
talk with me
don’t let me go
until your cheeks are dry.
The dream is so sweet
so get on your feet
and let’s make it happen together.