I stood still,
silent,
and drowning
facing the world
of hypocrisy
falling from the hands
of ignorance
into the streets of poverty.

A gunshot fired at midnight,
Another in broad daylight.
A soul long gone,
a tribe left wounded.
High school drop out,
Shunned and rejected.
Child starving,
For the love he’s been rejected.
Mother’s too high
To notice the neglected.
Father’s in jail,
six consecutive life sentences.

Everyone’s running,
Racing,
Avoiding an inescapable truth.
Trying to satisfy a society
Characterized by
The money you make
and the image you fake.
While an old man
Broken,
Tired,
Left weary,
Withers into dust.
At a corner by the church,
In the same cardboard box,
Passed by millions
On their way from work.
Always hurrying to a home
silenced by the unspoken,
overcrowded,
empty promises.

Days of innocence ,
Starting with the newest
spice girl lollipops
To the scrapped knees
Playing Red Light, green Light,
One, Two, three.
Listening to the best of tunes,
Mister Softee
While spinning so fast
Playing Ring Around the Rosie.
The sweet,
Delicate,
Beautiful imperfection,
Lies far behind us now.

Pressure rises.
Nights grow darker,
Compressed with cold loneliness.
Days grow shorter,
Unanticipated bitterness.
Constant twists, turns,
excruciating falls
in every wrong direction.
Never ending,
Never failing,
Disappointment.
But I’m still watching
Still hoping,
Still dreaming
Still wishing
That one of my tomorrows
will become the world’s today.