I Am

When searching for an item, you will never find it wondering where it is. Rather, you must wonder where it is not. To find yourself, you must know what you are not.

Who am I?

This question guides our lives, guides our decisions, defines our legacy.

What will I become? When will I die?

All my life placed in a box by people who hate and discriminate.

What legacy will I leave behind?

 Who am I?

A man who fights but doesn’t have a sword

A man who preaches but has no words

A child who can’t speak of his father’s past

Yet of his own future so sure

An ardent defender of peace

In a world that loves violence so

Knowing the wrong in his right, still loves his foe

I am not lazy, I don’t settle for less

I care no less for my brothers despite my success

I do not run a block, I don’t skip work

I don’t really like most of hip-hop, I find it absurd

I don’t have my freedom, I don’t have my pride

And you can’t tell m otherwise, my shackles are inside

Who am I?

In truth, I am nobody, because I am everybody. I am inconsequential because I am the average, and they’d rather focus on the extreme. Yet I cannot show anger or they think I am a savage. I can’t express my pain because they will mitigate my struggle. I cannot be anybody because they won’t let me. So who am I? No one.