Sharp E’s and R’s

To protect from 

Unease and “Are you 

illiterate?”

Doors of opportunity

Closed and out of reach

So far from 

My neighborhoods and streets.

If I had a penny for the times 

I was told “Practice what you preach!”

My pockets would resemble the peach they

Eat like everything’s fine

Each step I take would jingle and rhyme

Code-switched words burn like a split lip

Sipping salt and lime

Between you and me?

This war is split between two worlds

Yours and mine.

Built on the backs of

Ancestors

Counting hours and seconds

Nickels and dimes

To freedom … 

So when I speak,

Understand there is power behind my words

I suggest you heed them

My voice is NOT meek 

And the veins which hold

This Black blood that runs deep?

Would rather watch you bleed them

Than EVER silence my speech!