These Streets

Bang Bang Bang-- A round goes off- Blood seeps through the cracks Of the streets we walk. Another brotha lost, To these streets. Ignored by all, Sister against brother, Mother against father-- All out wars on this concrete. These streets mourn, Forgotten. We cry not tears-- But blood. Blood, blood, so much blood, Shed by the ones we know, Ones we love, Ones we fear. On these streets. These streets suffer-- From a broken heart, Bleeding clear blood---tears The tears of the mothers, brothers, sisters, friends Of the ones forever lost-- To these streets. As Richard Wright said "This was the culture from which I sprang. This was the terror from which I fled." Will there ever be a safe place to rest my head? I wish I could flee like the Black Boy said, But there ain’t no way out, But don’t cry for me: Like Tupac said, there’s a rose growing in this concrete, And that rose is me. I will grow through the blood streaked cracks In the streets I walk. There would be no stars without darkness, And so I will shine.