We Are Alive

who is we where does this we reside is it the same place as where we’ve come from have we progressed at all or is here to comfortable are the chains to comfortable what if harriet tubman was afraid of the dark what if rosa didnt exactly feel like catching the bus that morning why is the dream still a dream if not then why are we still slaves why do we insist on filling up jail cells they built based off our second grade reading scores do you remember how low they were still i rose are we afraid of success or just of being successful why am i sell out because i’ve chosen to sound like i’ve read a book before i mean look at our reading scores do you see how low they are we wear our pants around our ankles cuz we’re so use walking in chains please let me explain see goin back to what we know is in our DNA so we’ll always end up surrounded by whips and wrapped in chains fame only comes with a ball or a microphone an your soul is the only thing they’ll accept as pay please let me explain see we laid them brothers to rest we killed biggie we killed michael we shot tupac and no it wasn't bobby it was us that killed whitney see our thirst for someone to admire pushed them to create false masterpieces of their personalities we’ve created monsters and called them celebrities im glad gaga called them what they really are but are we really that different can we really blame Kanye for selling his soul to the devil after he lost his guardian angel his soul now resides on exalted cotton fields he sold his soul for the price of a happy meal and now he cant even afford to frown why are we resentinng are 40 acres a mule and an african american president to call our own not sufficient funds what the (fuck) are we resenting did we purposely not stand up so we can be lower than their expectations tell god not to move the mountain just yet we’ve just arrived and we didn't lose our way this time we overstepped cotton and poison ivy on our way to birmingham burned bidges all the way o selma cried all the way to the cross saw a million faces a thousand places a hundred races saw a change was in our distance but also within limits so we reach for the stars cuz they are the only bit of guidence we have left from our ancestors so we . . . as african american men especially women have to realize that we are strong beyond our own measure and we are only weak with belief and sometimes god places the weight of the world on our shoulders because that the only way he could get us on our knees now is redefining time its time to go and tell all those people who said son you are just like your father daughter you will never be good enough to do anything but lay on your back friend . why did yu stop smoking again baby if you really loved me you’d go an tell all these people that you have made it you have survived and when they ask you who is we tell them we are alive