Sketches of Pain

Peacemaker
Son of a violent man
Dream chaser
Raised on divided land
Where thieves raped us
Treated like I’m not a man
Our behavior
Like rebels without a plan
Step false get offed by a coward’s hand
Life’s shorter than an hour hand
But the least of my worries is the Taliban
Or hopin’ that they’ll pass an assault rifle ban
Most guns where I’m from aren’t licensed fam
The ones that are
Usually held tight in hands
By the cops and so called authority figures
Cringe at my black skin while calling us *****
But 6 letters can't define me I'm so much bigger
The path I walk
Most people can’t endure the rigor
Back up talk
By displaying so much vigor
Mastered art
The blind just ignore the picture
Passed a tart
But of course my portion’s bitter
That or starve
Cause round here they don’t deliver
Grabbed a quart
Rather be engulfed in liquor
Lacked support
And I wasn’t born a winner
An afterthought
These know-it-alls won’t consider
A man of God
Who sits upon a throne of wicker
Who scratched & Clawed
To reach the very point I’m sitting
After-all
That’s what fuels the poems I’m spitting

I’ma take this pain I’ve been dealt with and use it
This ship can’t reach the stars if I don’t fuel it
Without my music and art I’d be useless
I always knew
I got to do so...
I’ma take the pain I’ve been dealt and use it
This ship can’t reach the stars if I don’t fuel it
Without this music and art I’d be useless
I always knew
What I had to do 'cause...

You can’t hide from who you are
You can’t hide from who you are
Not even the highest peak
The lowest place
In every space
You always leave a trace
You always leave a trace
Always leave a trace!

Blood pressure high
Self-respect low
Could be cancer inside
Am I’m scared to know
Lucky to be alive
At the age of 34
Livin’ in fast times
Still manage to die slow
IV pumping morphine in my bloodstream
Woke with a scratchy throat & groggy what a rough dream
Something’s
Not right, nurse can you help me sit up
Felt like I was stabbed
Every time I try to get up
Hurt so damn bad
I can’t even cough this phlegm up
Pain every minute
Every moment that I been up
When I told the fam
They looked at me like I’m finished
Huh! I’ll be damned
If anything we’ll make me give up
Wishing I was home in my chair
Anywhere but here
Baby girl completely unaware
Lives without a care
It ain’t fair
When your child, you can’t even pick up
But I did it for her, so I’ma keep my chin up

I’ma take this pain I’ve been dealt with and use it
This ship can’t reach the stars if I don’t fuel it
Without my music and art I’d be useless
I always knew
I got to do so...

No matter what happens today
Tomorrow the sun will rise
We'll be there
We'll be there
We'll be there
To greet the sun
Good Morning
Good Morning
Good Morning
Good Morning

You can’t hide from who you are
You can’t hide from who you are
Not even the highest peak
The lowest place
In every space
You always leave a trace
You always leave a trace
Always leave a trace!