This Ain't Shakespeare...
Here's one more for you...a little more serious this one is....
This Ain’t Shakespeare
To be or not to be has never been the question
the reflection in the mirror answers in carefully broken boxes
Elmer’s glue and masking tape showing at the edges
that to be or not to be is a predetermination
an arrived at destination
outlined carefully by Congress and kids on the playground
DNA, nurture and nature, scientific nomenclature
That explicitly determines the species of our marginilization
FACT: On any given night 800 children sleep on Minneapolis
To live or not to live is the question, the rub
actively overcoming the sum of our composite parts
the product of our actions multipled by our heredity, drugs, and cross addictions
are all denominators in the problem at the heart of this inquiry
this seemingly simple decision dipped in innocence that is only candy coating
corrding the American Dream
which wasn’t meant for men like me, men who see past the present into Orwellian reality
and Orson Welle’s history—the Aliens landed in 1492
took our leaders and gave us cell block pacifers
blankets, methamphetamine, and fire water
a War between World’s is raging
where Jordan Camden
where
where Lyndale is an international border
where penthouses are built on Chicago
where the poor are given marching orders
to start a new trail of tears from the North Side and the South Side
to the city limits
suburban ghettos with invisible signs that still read: No Niggers, Gooks or Spics allowed
FACT: Within three days on the streets, even a child raised with the strongest moral values will turn to sex work to get his needs met
To thine own self be true
doesn’t mean shit
when living means economic brutality, the perpetuation of poverty
generations raised on commodity cheese
canned meat and peanut butter
powdered milk and WIC provender
where food in yellow boxes are brand name
and cereal only comes in bags
where to get a full time job
that pays part time wages
guarantees only EBT cessation
so dealing and banging become a means to feed the family
and fill private prison quotas
because this nation is still run by slave labor
inmates paid pennies an hour
to mass produce dollar power
FACT: Nearly 50% of young people living on the streets identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
Out damn spot
that has stained hands choking the life out of the future
kids that learn sometimes the streets are saner
than houses called homes where safety
is a stranger
and rare as full bellies
or I love you
where daughters tuck moms into bed at night
and newborns fall asleep to the lullaby of beer bottles breaking
taking care not to wake up daddy
because his bark is always followed by the bite
of leather, steel, cords on skin
branded Bacardi, crack, Phillips, meth, Smirnoff, weed
the man on the corner always has what you need
no money? He’ll take body in trade
cut you a deal: a gram for your soul
FACT: More than one million children are homeless in the United States
United States
Something wicked this way comes
dips claws into our hearts and minds
defines acceptance by what others think
so we stop thinking for ourselves
turn inside out to get attention
seeking approval from anyone willing to validate
self-hate keeping us from seeing
each of us is a perfectly imperfect being
made by the All Seeing
who broke the mold after each master piece
living art breathing vitality
each of us complete, whole in and of ourselves
made in His image and therefore unblemished
no matter what lies the mirror tells us
no matter the poison we’ve ingested
no matter the wrongs done to us or those we’ve committed
our only sin in not accepting
that we are loved without exception
without condition or reservation
FACT: There are 20 million children living in poverty in the United States
no man of woman born
was ever denied salvation
when he became willing
to work for it
honestly and openly tearing apart
spiritual infections
disinfecting psychic maladies
parasitic invaders draining
peace and serenity
on bended knee we ask
for the communion of the beatified fellowship
Holy Addicts and Sainted Alcoholics
spreading the word according to the gospel of Bill W.
each day receiving a reprieve and absolution
a simple solution
each step forward a step towards awakening
shaking off the collective hallucination
that what we see is how things have to be
that what we think is reality
that what we know is infallible
until we come to understand that there is a master plan
and a Master’s hand guiding us along a new and loving path
FACT: No man, woman, or child ever need go hungry or without love, never need be without shelter or comfort, never need know isolation or beg for acceptance. This a world of abundance, and ours is the gift to rebuild it, reinvent it, so that no one ever need walk in darkness. Fact.
- Brandon Campos
- Eden
-30 June 2005
no matter what lies the mirror tells us
no matter the poison we’ve ingested
no matter the wrongs done to us or those we’ve committed
our only sin in not accepting
that we are loved without exception
without condition or reservation
OMG... that's just fucking amazing.
Posted by: TC | December 9, 2005 03:55 PM