A darkness grows upon that looming hill,
Where beast and man, they seem to be the same.
Those below, they cry with voices shrill,
as those above refuse to feel their shame.

The beasts above, they try to hide their fangs,
they cover them up with their tongues of gold.
The darkness above, overhead it hangs
as many start to feel its bitter cold.

Disgust, it grows among the souls below.
The masks the beasts create begin to slip,
And true nature of their acts, it shows,
and the people see who holds the whip.

The souls below begin to climb and rise
so those above will have to hear their cries.

We’ve trapped ourselves in an ornate vessel
Sparkling like a bottle on the sea 
Filled to the brim with what we wrestle
The loneliest lock that exists without a key

In the back of our minds like a virus unchecked
Drenched from the rain before i have seen the sun 
Exposed to cracks you would never suspect

But, the bottle will break
Shattered by some greater power
With it our hearts no longer ache 
Finally our love can devour

We’ve built a life on the ashes of what has come before 
Where we can at last sit, liberated for evermore

Rosy cheeked girl, bouquet of black eyes
Bound to live within the confines of a tree trunk.
Enclosed in the wood,
Smothering smell of pine.
My life in his trunk, imprisoned.
Innocent from the outside,
Where it appears to provide shelter for lives.
A fruit bearer, an endless resource.
However, it wears a disguise. From the inside,
I am trapped.
I am unable to confess my feelings,
Unable to express myself, unable to freely do as I choose.
This imprisonment, is not confining my imagination.
To be free from within is to free my love and soul.
It will give me the power and strength to truncate his control over me.

‘>The words slip from her lips like drool,
,>Gathering at her chin,
            Reaching,
            Twisting
            Around each other,
            Yearning
o    To rest in the pools of forgotten phrases.

      We bypass these with little but disgust
      <,        As our mouths continue to froth,
       .         Each drop
                 Mixing
       o        With the senseless sewage.

;>Slowly her salival sequence rises into spiteful spittle.
The song of her voice gradually fluctuates upward
In anger,
Contempt.

~>Her words splash into me
Each syllable
#          Sizzling
My skin.
Like acid rain, the vowels
-           Pelt
Upon my person.
The consonants continue
            Carving
Craters in my chest.

<*A silent liquid from my eyes meets these assaults,
“*”     shining,
          As it dribbles past
*( _ ) My tightened cheeks and
         falls
         To cower in
0       The dismal pool of words.

~~~~ Her words are flooding me,
The letters racing through my swelling throat.

{This}
/    \      Geyser of Words
Will drown me.

Then the tide pulls back,
Hesitates,
Receding
Finally as she slams the door.

              I am left a melted pile of wax
                  soaking in the murky depths

We just gotta make it to the common ground that we all desire
So let me rise out the nest, like a Phoenix out of fire
Let me crack the whip, until it’s broken into pieces
Let the crack ring, until we all learn what peace is
To bring peace means to really bring equality
The system finds the truth then they punch us with reality
Intentionally knowing the wall we're trying to break
Seeing the IC3 is more than my heart can take
The chains all over him, the guts and no glory
But we fought and killed like the Black Panther Party 
We spoke like Maya Angelou, and sang like Diana Ross 
We argued like Marshall, and danced like Stephen Boss
We now rose the sheets that hid us from the crowd 
They said “Your skin is too dark” 
Well “I’m black and I’m proud” 
Black eyes, Big hair, Blue eyes, White lies
It's like we live in the same room but sleep on different sides

But if we take the time to learn about the true stories of black history
Maybe we can break the chains that weigh us down into our own misery

Do
you remember Summer ‘99?
The
empty barn and field of unpicked fruit
Gave
the sea a wink and knowing smile.
They
said, “Those kids, right there, will never leave.”
Even
though The Island washed away,
And
no more can we play, those days remain.

I’m
older and only memories remain.
Fated
is time; it gives me 99
Problems,
most unfixable. Away
Goes
the kid who knew the sea and fruit
Fields
so well. Oh, well. We had to leave.
It
takes everything sometimes to smile.

Some
days on The Island I would smile
At
the rusty water pump, a remain
Of
families past. All the kids would leave
The
water running. Then, we’d find 99
Ways
to catch starlight in our palms, while Fruit
Pie
Perfume lingered, then wafted away.

Now,
those kids are good and gone away.
Off
to college goes the eldest, his smile
Visible
but lacking youth. The fruit,
By
now is eaten, but his shells remain,
Hidden
in brown boxes, 99
And
counting. Now what’s left to do? Leave.

You
know by now that it was hard to leave.
The
ocean’s image can’t be taken away
From
us, it’s blue ingrained. 99
Sea
songs forever playing in me. I smile
To
forget that it’s gone. The only remain
Of
innocence left, now bitter fruit.

Regardless
of our loss of youth, the fruit
Still
grows on the trees. We had to leave,
Yes,
but memories and stars remain.
No
matter if the storm forced us away;
Nostalgia
keeps The Island safe… so, smile.
Do
you remember Summer ‘99?

Please
don’t leave, oh please! Don’t go away.
The
smell of fruit and easy urge to smile
Both
remain of Summer ‘99.

I am from a chance meeting on a singles' cruise
Where a storm created a romance
I am from Springfield, NJ,
Where the houses smelled of conformity
I am from spices and masala chai
Where no shoes are allowed in the temples

I am from questions
“Really, you’re half Indian?”
Followed by expressions of disbelief
I am from hugs and laughter
Bad days are always better with comedy
I am from the smell of rain on pavement
Because Pittsburgh is my home

I am from Play-Doh and unicorns
Where anything is possible
I am from dolls with magical hair
Who wait patiently for me after school
I am from Spongebob and Harry Potter
Even when no Hogwarts letter came

I am from books and metal music
Which go together like tea and cake
I am from my friends
Because friends are the ones who choose to love you
I am from all my experiences
The present is created by the past