I've walked inside the shadows of the valley of death
traveled aimlessly searching for the inner shine
of my mind; experiencing life, learning the hard way;
the difference between wrong and right;
loved hard and fell harder;
shattered the strongest muscle that resides
in the left upper region of my flesh;
For 26 years....
I've ducked the clap of the gun,
by sticking to the script
and staying beneath the radar,
avoided the shackles and the noose
without selling out the underground troops;
shipping herds of slaves on the railroads of
freedom;
For 26 years....
I've whipped away dried tears to conceal
the truth of all hidden fears;
shot by a man that looks like me
because I resembled his enemy;
despised by my peers because I
matriculated and all they
received was street education;
For 26 years....
I've searched for the tree of knowledge,
praying it would heighten my mental
suspension, but the journey only lead me
to a place where my vision was distant
from my sight;
stuck in chaos, living in limbo,
unable to let go change and grow
For 26 years....
I've tried to abide by the laws
of the land of the free and the home of the brave,
but where i stay all I witness is a land
of slaves raised as renegades!